BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•o 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


A  SERIES  OF  LECTURES 


ON     THE 


THE  FULFILLMENT  OF  PROPHECY,  THE  DREAM  OF 
[NEBUCHADNEZZAR,  THE  VISION  OF  DANIEL,  THE 
PERIHELIA  OF  THE  PLANETS,  THE  CONSTEL- 
LATIONS OF  THE  SERPENT  AND  DRAGON, 
STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM,  SHEPHERD  STAR 
AND  THE  ORE  A  T  SIGNS  IN  THE  HE  A  V- 
ENS,  WITH  THE  SEVEN   WONDERS 
OF  THE  WORLD,  PYRAMIDS  AND 
CLEOPATRA'S  NEEDLES; 
EVENTS    IN    HISTORY, 
ITS  SIEGES  AND  BAT- 
TLES, WITH  SCENES 
IN    ZION   AND 


BY 

ELDER    ROBERT   SMITH, 

PAYSON,   UTAH. 

1887. 


PRINTED    AT    THE    JUVENILE    INSTRUCTOR    OFFICE. 


O 


M/f. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction.  Page  13. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Abraham,  his  Parentage,  his  Nativity — Extracts  from  the  Talmud  Concern- 
ing his  life — His  Destruction  of  his  Father's  Idols — He  leaves  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees — Visits  Egypt — Incidents  in  his  Life.  14. 

CHAPTER  II. 

First  Wonder— Outside  View  of  the  Great  Pyramid — Distance  from  the  Nile 
— Singular  Marks — Passage  and  Rooms-Herodotus'  Description  of  Pyra- 
mid— Abraham  the  Architect — Years  in  Building — Where  the  Rock  was 
Brought  from — Size,  etc — History  of  Grand  Cairo — Object  of  Building, 
etc — Great  Causeway  for  Conveying  Rock  to  Pyramid — Geographical 
Position — Circle  of  Time — Israel  and  the  Pyramid — Cephren  the  Sec- 
ond Largest  Pyramid — History  of  Sphinx — Myceranus  the  Third  Larg- 
est Pyramid.  19. 

CHAPTER   III. 

Inside  of  the  Great  Pyramid — Date  of  Building — Astronomical  Markings — 
Hieroglyphics — Dragon  Star — Uranus  North  Polar  Star  at  Pyramid 
Building — Perihelia  of  Planets — Entrance  Passage — Meridian  of  Pyra- 
mid— Lowest  Position  of  Dragon  in  1891 — Position  of  Serpent — Inch 
Marks  in  Entrance  Passage — Length  of  Passages — Time  from  Fall  of 
Adam  to  Birth  of  Christ— Length  of  Grand  Gallery— Narrow  Passage 
—Stone  Steps  and  1830— Ante-Chamber— King's  Chamber— Stone  Cof- 
fer and  Ark  of  Covenant — Square  Room  or  New  Jerusalem — Pyramid 
in  Center  of  the  Earth — Lower  Room  Representing  Hades — Alma- 
moun's  Passage — Joseph  Smith  and  the  year  1891 — Pyramid  a  Sign  and 
Witness  of  End  of  World— Pyramid  and  Millennium.  29. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Perihelia  of  Planets— Date  of  Great  Perihelia— Two  Great  Perihelia  To- 
gether—Their Mark  in  Great  Pyramid— The  Position  of  the  Earth  and 


ii  CONTENTS. 

five  Planets— The  Star  of  Bethlehem— This  Perihelia  a  Sign  of  the 
End.  42. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Cleopatra's  Needles— Description  of  Pillars— Location— Size— Object  of 
Rearing— When  Reared— By  Whom— When  Taken  Down— Where 
Moved— Needle  in  London— Pillar  in  New  York— The  Square  and  Com- 
pass on  .Needle— Free  Masonry  and  the  Cleopatra's  Needles.  44. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Second  Wonder— The  City  of  Babylon— Its  Origin— Its  Location— Herodo- 
tus' Visit— Nimrod  and  Babel— Tower  of  Babel— Palace  of  King- 
Hanging  Gardens — Euphrates  River — Great  Walls — Confusion  of 
Tongues  and  Brother  of  Jared— Cyrus  Besieging  the  City— Fall  of 
Babylon— End  of  Jewish  Captivity— Alexander  the  Great  and  Babylon 
—Hand-writing  on  the  Wall.  48 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Third  Wonder,  Jupiter  Olympus— Commencement  of  Image  Worship — 
Nimrod  and  the  Star  Jupiter— Phidas  the  Sculptor—Olympic  games — 
Dimensions  of  Image — Size  of  Temple — Description  of  Statue — When 
Destroyed,  and  by  Whom.  57. 

• 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fourth  Wonder,  Temple  of  Diana— Geographical  Position  of  Ephesus — 
Paul  preaching  in  Ephesus— Origin  of  Diana— Description  of  the 
Foundation— The  Marble  Columns— Size  of  Temple— 220  years  in  build- 
ing— Incidents  Pertaining  to  Temple — Justinian  Destroys  the  Temple — 
Gospel  of  John  Written  at  Ephesus.  63. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Fifth  Wonder,  the  Pharos— The  City  of  Alexandria—Conception  of  Great 
Light-house— By  Whom  Built— Incidents  in  life  of  Ptloemy  Soter  and 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus— Walls  and  Streets  of  Alexandria— Its  Popula- 
tion—Size of  Pharos— Bible  first  Translated  in  the  Time  of  the  Pharos 
—Great  Alexandrian  Library— Pharos  Destroyed  by  an  Earthquake — 
Other  Light- houses.  70. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Sixth  Wonder,  the  Mausoleum — Description  of  Caria  and  Halicarnassus— 
Death  of  King  Mausolus— His  Queen  Artemesia  Mourns  his  Death 


CONTENTS.  iii 

— Buildslone'of  the  Seven  Wonders— Description  of  Tomb — Death   of 
Queen — Comments  of  Tomb.  74. 

CHAPTER  XL 

Seventh  Wonder,  the  Colossus — The  City  of  Rhodes — Antigones  and  the 
Rhodians — Siege  of  Rhodes— Origin  of  Image — Size — Description  of 
Colossus — Knight  of  St.  John's — Monuments  of  Rhodes — Destruction 
of  Image.  79. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Siege  of  Jerusalem— The  Holy  City— Its  Antiquity— Geographical  Position 
— Shem  the  Founder— Melchisedec— Who  was  Melchisedec— Abraham 
and  Jerusalem — Jebusites  Occupation — David's  overthrow  of  Jerusa- 
lem—The City  Under  David— The  Benjamites  were  the  Christians  who 
Received  the  Gospel— The  Revolt  of  the  Jews  A.  D.  68— Siege  of  Jeru- 
salem Under  Titus — Sufferings  of  the  Jews — Solomon's  Temple — Also 
Herod's— End  of  the  Siege.  83. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Colosseum  of  Rome,  or  Zion  as  it  Was — Jews  Build  Colosseum — Vespasian 
Emperor  of  Rome — The  Great  Amphitheatre — Its  Size — The  Dedica- 
tion— Jews  and  Christians  Destroyed  by  Nero — Flight  of  Early  Chris- 
tians— Their  Sufferings  in  the  Catacombs — Their  Extinction  A.  D.  570 
— The  JVlelchisedec  Priesthood  and  the  Former- day  Saints — Comparison 
Between  Former  and  Latter-day  Saints— The  Church  Driven  into  the 
Wilderness  1260  years — Prophetic  Numbers — Restoration  of  Gospel 
1830.  89. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Zion  as  it  Was— The  Little  Horn— Daniel's  Explanation — The  Latter-day 
Saints  the  People  Meant  by  Daniel — Must  be  the  People  as  History 
Proves— Never  to  be  Overthrown— 1830  the  Prophetic  Year— 1891  the 
End— Prison  Scene,  etc.  93. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Zion  as  it  will  be — Means  of  Knowing  the  Things  Concerning  Zion — Revela- 
tion and  Prophecy  on  Zion — Proof  Positive  that  Zion  will  be  Redeemed 
— Prophecy  of  Babyloc — The  Caliph  Omar  and  Mohammed — The 
Saracens — Isaiah  on  Zion — Battles  of  Zion  to  be  Fought  by  the  Lord — 
The  Tribes  of  the  North — The  icy  Barriers  to  Melt  at  their  Approach — 
They  will  Come  to  Ephraim  to  Receive  their  Confirmations — Temples 
to  be  Reared— The  Ancient  of  Days— The  Temple  in  Jackson  County. 

102. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Last  Judgments — Rewards  and  Punishments — John  the  Revelator  on  last 
Judgment — The  Lake  of  Fire — Comments  Thereon — Fate  of  the 
Wicked — Rewards  of  the  Just — Remorse  of  those  who  Neglect  Salva- 
tion—The Holy  City— Its  Streets  of  Grold— Precious  Stones  the  Walls 
—Comments  on  this  Probation— The  Law  of  Increase  only  by  the  Celes- 
tial— The  Twelve  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem — The  Names  over  the 
Gates— The  Celestial  life  only  Worth  Living  for— The  Records  Kept  by 
Man  Himself  and  How — The  Lagt  Judgment  Sure.  108. 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

HAVING  been  solicited  by  many  patrons,  who  have  wit- 
nessed our  exhibition  of  paintings,  to  print  the  lectures  on  the 
subjects  of  our  title-page,  and,  having  carefully  penned  our 
researches  on  said  subjects,  we  cordially  hope  that  this  little 
book  may  prove  a  source  of  good,  and  aid  the  students  of  his- 
tory and  prophecy  to  unravel  some  of  the  mysteries  of  godli- 
ness, and  to  pursue  the  path  of  knowledge,  leading  upwards 
to  God,  that  by  diligence  and  faithfulness  in  His  most  holy 
cause,  they  might  know  more  of  the  things  that  will  surely 
come  to  pass  in  the  latter  days.  It  is  the  earnest  wish  of  the 
author  that  this  little  work  may  be  the  means  of  inducing  the 
lukewarm  to  consider  well  their  ways  and  be  wise. 

The  times  indicate  rapid  changes,  and  the  mind,  imbued 
with  heavenly  aspirations,  cannot  fail  to  read  in  holy  writ,  in 
the  great  pyramid  and  in  the  constellations  of  the  heavens, 
the  signs  of  the  near  approach  of  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord 
of  lords,  to  reign  in  power  and  great  glory. 

That  the  seed  sown  may  bear  precious  fruit,  and  the  les- 
sons of  history  and  prophecy  contained  herein  leave  their 
lasting  impress,  I  subscribe  myself  the  friend  of  the  truth- 
loving  everywhere. 

ROBERT  SMITH. 


CHAPTER    I. 


ABRAHAM. 


ABRAHAM  was  the  first  great  patriarch.  He  was  born  in 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  beyond  the  Euphrates.  His  father's  name 
was  Terah,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Shem.  Abram  lived  in 
Ur  until  he  was  seventy-five  years  old,  when,  being  called  of 
God  by  revelation,  he  left  his  native  land  and  emigrated  to 
Canaan  (Gen.  xii,  1 — 5).  A  famine  drove  him  into  the  land  of 
Egypt,  where  he  fell  in  favor  with  the  king,  and  afterwards 
influenced  him  to  build  the  "Great  First  Wonder,"  the  pyra- 
mid of  Gizeh,  or  Cheops,  as  called  by  moderns.  It  will  interest 
our  readers  to  give  a  short  account  of  this  great  character, 
who  was  the  "Father  of  Israel,"  and  the  most  faithful  of  the 
human  family.  Extracts  from  The  Talmud  (Chap,  ii,  page  30) 
read: 

Terah  was  chief  officer  to  King  Nimrod,  and  a  great 
favorite  with  his  royal  master,  and  was  granted  many  priv- 
ileges, and  when  Abram  was  born,  Terah,  as  was  the  custom 
of  the  country,  made  a  great  feast  to  commemorate  the  event, 
and  asked  his  friends  and  relatives  to  the  celebration,  for  in 
the  ancient  time  they  rejoiced  over  the  birth  of  a  son.  The 
guests  on  entering  early  in  the  morning  saw  a  brilliant  star 
arise  in  the  east,  and  they  also  saw  four  other  stars  arise  from 
the  different  points  of  the  compass  in  the  heavens,  and  the  first 
star  swallowed  up  the  other  four  stars  from  the  four  quarters 
of  the  heavens.  The  magicians,  who  were  guests  of  Terah  and 
witnessess  of  this  remarkable  phenomena,  considered  this  an 
evil  omen  to  the  new-born  child  of  Terah,  so  they  returned  to 
the  king,  and  said  that  the  wonderful  event  of  the  stars  was  a 
symbol  that  the  child  would  grow  up  to  be  a  faithful  man,  and 
that  his  descendants  would  increase  in  the  land  until  they 
would  destroy  this  kingdom  and  possess  its  lands,  so  they  ad- 
vised the  king  to  buy  the  child  and  destroy  it  before  its  matur- 
ity, or  the  event  predicted  by  them  would  surely  come  to  pass. 
So  the  king  sent  for  Terah,  and  related  the  story  of  the  magi- 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  15 

cians  concerning  the  stars,  with  the  modest  request  that  he  sell 
him  the  child.  Terah  evaded  the  request  of  the  king  by  ask- 
ing him  about  the  sale  of  a  horse.  Terah  said,  'Ayon,  the  son 
of  Morad,  came  to  my  house  yesterday  desiring  to  purchase 
the  beautiful  steed,  which  thou,  oh  king,  didst  graciously  give 
me.  'Sell  me  the  horse,'  says  Ayon,  and  I  will  pay  you  his  full 
value  and  likewise  fill  thy  stables  with  straw  and  provender, 
and  I  answered  him  I  could  not  without  the  consent  of  the 
king.'  'What,'  said  the  king,  'art  thou  in  such  need  that  thou 
wouldst  sell  the  gift  of  the  king  and  barter  a  steed  unequalled 
in  all  the  land  for  gold  or  silver?'  And  the  king  was  wroth; 
then  Terah  bowed  down  before  the  king  and  said  if  such  was 
the  feeling  of  the  king  concerning  a  horse,  how  could  he  ask 
him  to  part  with  his  child  for  gold  or  silver?  'But,' said  Terah, 
'all  I  have  is  thine,  oh  king,  so,  without  force,  take  the  child/ 
'No,'  said  the  king,  'but  with  money  will  I  buy  the  child.'  Tar- 
don  me,'  said  Terah,  'but  give  me  three  days  for  consideration, 
and  [  will  lay  the  matter'  before  the  mother  of  the  boy  and 
give  thee  word  of  the  result.'  But  after  three  days  the  king 
sent  to  Terah  demanding  the  infant,  or  he  and  all  his  house 
should  be  destroyed.  Terah  then  took  the  child  of  one  of 
his  slaves,  born  on  the  same  day  as  Abram,  and  sent  it  to 
the  king.  Terah  received  the  money  for  the  child 
from  the  king's  purser,  and  the  king  slew  the  child, 
thinking  it  to  be  Abram.  And  Terah  hid  the  mother  and 
child  and  its  nurse  in  a  lonely  cave,  where  they  were  concealed 
for  ten  years,  until  the  king  and  his  courtiers  had  forgotten 
the  episode  of  the  birth  and  death  of  the  child.  Then  Terah 
took  the  child  and  his  mother  from  the  cave  and  sent  him  to 
Noah  and  Shem,  his  (Noah's)  son,  that  he  might  learn  the  ways 
of  the  Lord,  who  had  saved  them  (Noah  and  Shem)  in  the 
great  flood,  and  Abram  lived  with  them  thirty-nine  years. 
Being  then  about  fifty  years  old  he  returned  to  his  father's 
house,  and  was  grieved  to  find  that  his  father  had  forgotten 
the  God  of  Noah  and  Shem,  and  had  turned  to  worshiping 
idols,  as  the  Chaldeans  did,  and  on  entering  a  room,  where 
were  twelve  images  of  wood  and  stone,  (each  one  of  these 
idols  were  for  different  months  in  the  year)  Abram,  when  he 
beheld  these  images,  said:  'By  the  life  of  the  Lord,  if  these 
idols  remain  here  three  days  longer,  may  the  God  who  created 
me  make  me  such  as  they.'  So  Abram  sought  his  father  and 
asked  him  to  show  him  the  Gods  who  had  made  the  heaven 
and  the  earth,  thee,  me,  and  all  the  people  of  the  earth;  and 
Terah  said,  'My  son,  the  creator  of  all  things  is  here  in  mine 


1G  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

house.'  Then  Abram  asked  him  to  show  him  to  him.  Then 
Terah  led  Abram  into  an  inner  apartment,  and  pointing  to 
the  twelve  images,  he  said:  'These  are  the  gods  who  made 
the  earth,  thee,  me,  and  all  the  people  of  the  earth.' 

The  next  day  Abram  requested  his  mother  to  prepare  a 
kid  in  her  best  manner,  and  he  brought  it  before  the  gods, 
and  laid  it  conveniently  beside  them,  but  none  stretched  forth 
a  hand  to  partake  of  the  savory  mess.  He  went  to  his  mother 
and  told  her  to  prepare  two  kids,  'for,'  said  he,  'it  is  not  to  their 
taste  or  mayhap  the  quantity  was  not  great  enough;'  so  he 
caused  his  mother  to  prepare  two  kids  in  her  best  manner,  and 
he  laid  them,  as  before,  at  the  feet  of  the  images,  with  the 
same  result  as  on  the  previous  day.  Then  said  Abram:  'Woe 
to  my  father  and  this  evil  generation,  woe  to  those  who  wor- 
ship senseless  images,  without  power  to  smell  or  eat,  to  see  or 
hear.  Mouths  have  they  but  sounds  they  cannot  utter;  eyes 
they  have  but  lack  power  to  see.  hands  and  feet,  but  cannot 
move  or  walk,  senseless  as  they  are  the  men  who  wrought 
them,  and  senseless  all  who  bow  down  to  them  or  put  their 
trust  in  them.'  And,  seizing  an  iron  implement,  he  broke  in 
pieces  all  except  one,  and  he  placed  the  iron  tool  in  the  hand 
of  the  remaining  image.  Terah,  in  his  house,  heard  the  noise 
made  by  the  destruction  of  his  gods,  and  hastened  to  the 
apartment,  and  found  Abram  there  and  the  food  he  had  laid 
at  their  feet,  and  Ire  demanded  of  Abram  how  the  destruction 
had  been  done.  Abram  said:  'I  brought  them  savory  meat, 
and  behold,  they  all  grasped  for  it  with  eagerness,  but  the 
largest  one,  displeased  at  their  greed,  seized  that  iron  imple- 
ment which  he  holds  and  destroyed  them  all.' 

'False  are  thy  words,'  said  Terah,  with  anger.  'Did  not 
I  fashion  these  with  mine  own  hand,  and  know  that  they 
could  not  move  or  speak,  or  act  as  thou  sayest  they  did.' 

'Then,'  said  Abram,  'how  could  the  larger  destroy  the 
smaller  ones?  Then  why  serve  senseless  gods  who  cannot 
help  thee  or  hear  thy  supplications?  Cease,  oh,  my  father, 
to  serve  such  gods.'  And,  seizing  the  iron  implement,  he 
destroyed  the  remaining  idol. 

Terah,  in  great  rage,  hastened  before  the  king,  and  re- 
hearsed the  act  of  Abram,  and  the  king  commanded  that 
Abram  be  seized  and  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace,  which  was 
heated  to  a  great  and  consuming  heat,  and  Abram  was  led  out 
to  be  thrust  therein.  Then  cried  out  the  magicians,  'we  know 
this  man:  this  is  none  other  than  the  child  at  whose  birth  one 
large  star  consumed  four  others.  His  father  hath  mocked 


TIIK  SHIN'S  Ol<  TIN']  TI.MKS.  17 

thee,  and  played  thee  false,  and  has  given  thee  another  child 
in  his  stead/ 

Then  the  king  in  great  wrath  commanded.  Terah  to  be 
brought  before  him,  and  demanded  of  him  why  he  had 
mocked  him,  and  Terah  answered:  'It  is  even  as  they  have 
said.  I  had  compassion  on  my  child,  and  took  one  of  my 
slave's  children,  born  on  the  same  day,  and  sent  in  his  stead.' 

Then  the  king  demanded  who  had  counseled  him  to  do 
the  deed,  and  Terah  in  his  consternation  and  without  founda- 
tion, said  Charan,  my  son,  counseled  me.  Then  the  king 
commanded  Charan  to  be  also  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace. 
Now  the  heat  was  so  great  that  it  slew  the  men  who  cast  them 
into  the  furnace,  but  God  remembered  His  servant  Abram, 
and  although  the  ropes  that  bound  him  were  burned  off  from 
his  limbs,  he  arose  unharmed  from  the  bottom  of  the  furnace, 
but  Charan,  the  brother  of  Abram,  perished  in  the  flames; 
but  Abram  walked  to  and  fro  in  the  furnace,  and  when  it  was 
told  the  king  he  refused  to  believe  it,  until  viewing  the  servant 
of  God  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire  he  commanded  that 
they  take  him  out,  but  the  men  who  attempted  to  do  the  bid- 
ing of  the  king  were  driven  back  by  the  intense  heat,  and 
eight  men  were  slain  in  the  attempt  to  do  the  king's  bidding. 
Then  the  king  came  as  near  the  furnace  as  he  could,  and  he 
called  thus:  'Servant  of  the  living  God,  come  forth!'  And 
Abram  came  out  of  the  furnace,  and  not  a  hair  of  his  head 
was  singed  or  the  smell  of  fire  upon  his  clothing.  The  king 
expressed  great  wonder.  Then  said  Abram:  'The  God  of 
heaven,  whom  I  trust,  hath  delivered  me  from  the  flames.' 
Then  the  king  made  him  presents,  and  he  was  in  favor  with 
the  king,  until  the  latter  remembered  the  episode  of  the  stars, 
and  he  then  sent  secret  assassins  to  take  Abram's  life;  but, 
learning  the  king's  plans,  the  intended  victim  went  again  to 
Noah,  where  he  remained  until  the  king  had  forgotten  him. 

Terah,  being  still  a  favorite  of  the  king,  requested  per- 
mission to  go  and  visit  his  friends  in  Haran,  but  the  king 
would  not  allow  him,  so  he  went  secretly  to  visit  Noah  and 
his  son  Abram,  who  persuaded  him  (Terah)  to  accompany  his 
son  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  So  he  did,  and  they  settled  in 
Charan,  where  Terah  died." 

There  God  appeared  to  Abram  in  Charan  and  blessed 
him  and  made  His  covenant  with  him,  that  in  blessings  he 
would  bless  him,  and  that  his  seed  should  be  as  the  sand  upon 
the  sea-shore  for  multitude  (Gen.  xvii).  Here  God  changed  his 


18  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

name  from  Abram  to  Abraham,  which  signifies  "father  of  a 
multitude."  He  was  eighty-six  years  old  when  Ishmael  was 
born,  and  Ishmael  was  sixteen  years  old  when  Isaac  was  born, 
Abraham  being  one  hundred  years  old  (Gen.  xxi).  The  token 
of  the  covenant  was  circumcision,  and  Abraham  was  ninety- 
nine  years  old  when  he  was  circumcised,  Ishmael  thirteen 
years  old,  and  all  the  males  of  Abraham's  house  were  circum- 
cised that  day.  (Gen.  xvii,  24 — 27.) 

After  this  Abraham  reared  altars  to  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
and  when  he  was  driven  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  by  a  severe 
famine,  he  became  the  architect  of  the  greatest  altar  on  the 
footstool  of  God.  It  is  considered  by  pyramid-readers,  both 
Israelite  and  Gentile,  that  the  great  pyramid  is  of  divine 
origin,  and,  as  Professor  Seiss,  of  Philadelphia,  expresses  it,  it 
is  a  "miracle  in  stone."  We  call  it  the  stone-book  of  Abra- 
ham, who,  knowing  all  things  that  would  come  to  pass  in  the 
last  days,  made  it  as  an  imperishable  mile  stone  in  the  journey 
of  time;  that  when  the  Ephrairnites,  who  should  become  the 
head  (for  the  birthright  of  Reuben  was  lost  to  him  through 
transgression),  it  should  then  be  given  to  Joseph,  who,  trans- 
mitting it  to  his  two  sons,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  in  the  last 
days  were  to  open  up  the  dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  times, 
and  prepare  the  house  for  the  return  of  the  scattered  tribes. 
In  this  great  altar  to  the  Lord,  as  Isaiah  calls  it,  we  have  the 
record  of  Abraham  to  the  Ephraimites,  a  sure  guide,  a  record 
that  cannot  be  ignored  by  infidel  or  skeptic.  We  now  proceed 
to  the  history  of  the  "Great  First  Wonder,"  the  pyramid  of 
Cheops. 


TIIK  SIGNS  OF  THK  TIMKS.  19 


CHAPTER    II. 


PYRAMID    OF    CM  HOPS,    OR    GREAT    FIRST    WONDER. 


ON  a  fine  plateau,  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  river  Nile, 
stands  the  most  remarkable  building  ever  erected  by  man.  Its 
immense  size,  shape,  artistic  workmanship,  remarkable  inter- 
ior, with  its  singular  marks  and  passage-ways,  rooms  and 
tubes,  all  prove  it  of  divine  origin.  It  has  been  explored  by 
many  learned  men  of  different  nations,  who  have  attempted 
to  prove  when  and  by  whom  it  was  built,  arid  the  purpose  of 
its  erection.  They  have  tried  to  decipher  its  curious  signs, 
figures  and  problems,  astronomical  bearings,  etc.,  and  nearly 
all  writers,  both  in  the  old  and  new  world,  agree  as  touching 
its  divine  origin.  Dr.  Seiss  calls  it  a  "miracle  in  stone,"  and 
Pyazza  Smythe,  of  Edinburg,  has  written  one  of  the  best  works 
on  the  pyramid,  extant,  entitled  "Our  Inheritance  in  the  Great 
Pyramid,"  which  the  late  Prof.  Orson  Pratt  preferred  to  all 
others.  The  last  named  work  is  undoubtedly  authentic,  as 
Mr.  Smythe  went  to  Egypt  expressly  to  take  observations  on 
the  pyramid,  and,  that  he  might  not  be  retarded  by  family 
ties,  he  took  them  with  him.  He  spent  five  months  at  the 
pyramid,  his  wife  an*d  children  living  in  a  rifled  Egyptian 
tomb,  adjacent  thereto,  that  they  might  benefit  him  in  his  re- 
searches. His  drawings  contain  measurements,  angles,  squares, 
circles,  with  planetary  markings,  passages,  rooms,  tubes,  etc., 
to  aid  the  reader  in  unraveling  the  mysteries  recorded  in  the 
altar  of  Abraham.  We  will  refer  to  some  of  these  points  as 
we  proceed. 

A  celebrated  historian,  Herodotus,  who  was  born  in  Hali- 
carnassus,  in  the  kingdom  of  Caria  in  the  year  484,  B.  C.,  and 
who  had  to  flee  his  native  country  to  escape  that  tyrant  ruler 


20 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


Tllfl  SU'JNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  in 

Lygdamus,  arriving  at  Greece,  was  received  favorably  by  the 
Grecians,  and  wrote  an  account  of  his  travels  and  observa- 
tions in  the  countries  he  visited,  in  such  truthful  style  that  he 
won  the  name  of  the  father  of  history,  from  the  great  Cicero. 
In  his  travels  through  Egypt,  he  visited  the  pyramids  in  the 
year  445,  B.  C.,  and  states  that  he  received  his  information  con- 
cerning the  great  building  from  the  priests  of  Memphis,  who 
had  an  oracle  and  a  temple  adjacent  to  the  pyramid  at  that 
time.  They  informed  him  that  they  were  forbidden  to  men- 
tion the  name  of  Cheops,  as  he  was  a  renegade  or  apostate 
from  the  worship  of  the  gods  of  his  fathers;  he  and  his  brother 
Cephren  having  been  influenced  by  Philetus,  a  shepherd  king, 
to  forsake  the  worship  of  idols  and  adopt  that  of  the  God  of 
heaven.  He  then  influenced  him  to  rear  the  great  pyramid, 
and  Herodotus  states  that  Cheops  employed  one  hundred 
thousand  men,  thirty  years  in  constructing  the  building.  Ten 
years  of  the  time  was  spent  in  laying  the  foundation. 

The  pyramid  stands  on  four  feet,  on  a  flinty  granite  ledge 
of  rock,  which  the  builder  has  let  into  the  granite  8  inches 
•deep,  and  16  feet  square  on  each  of  the  corners  of  the  building. 
The  first  course,  or  foundation  layer,  is  4  feet  thick  and  covers 
the  entire  13J  acres  of  land.  Commentators  cannot  explain 
the  use  of  these  feet  or  corners  let  into  the  rock  of  the  build- 
ing, which  surely  did  not  need  to  be  secured  by  such  means, 
to  prevent  its  sliding  into  the  Nile.  It  is  also  cemented  with 
a  cement  of  lime  and  sand  to  make  it  as  nearly  solid  as  pos- 
sible. The  first  course,  as  we  mentioned,  covered  the  entire 
surface  of  13J  acres  and  was  4  feet  high.  Then,  all  around 
the  entire  building  it  receded  4  feet  inward,  and  this  peculiar- 
ity was  maintained  clear  to  the  top,  or  where  the  caption  rock 
was  placed.  The  courses  of  rock  are  not  all  uniform  in  thick- 
ness, as  the  pyramid,  when  completed,  was  but  511  feet  high, 
and  there  are  208  courses  of  rock,  now  forming  the  platform 
or  top  of  the  pyramid,  as  they  have  taken  30  feet  from  the  top, 
and  left  a  32  foot  square  platform.  This  was  done  by  the 
Caliphs  and  builders  of  Grand  Cairo,  a  city  a  few  miles  down 
the  Nile  from  where  the  pyramids  stand.  The  rock  of  which 


22  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TD*ES. 

they  are  composed,  is  limestone,  and  was  taken  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  lime.  Probably  the  great  pyramid  was  thus 
roughly  handled  by  the  builders  of  Cairo,  as  this  has  been  a 
city  from  time  immemorial,  some  writers  stating  that  it  was 
the  first  city  built  in  Egypt,  and  that  a  son  of  Ham,  named 
Mesraim,  or  Mezraim,  was  its  builder;  which  has  a  shade  of 
truth,  as  the  natives  call  the  city  by  that  name  to  this  day) 
and  one  of  the  sons  of  Ham  bore  that  name  (Gen.  x,  6). 

The  32  foot  platform,  comprising  the  top  of  the  pyramid, 
is  composed  of  six  rocks  and  upon  it  are  the  names  of 
Greek,  Italian,  German,  Russian,  Spanish  and  American  trav- 
elers, who  have  visited  the  pyramid  and  left  their  mark  there; 
and,  as  we  have  been  informed,  a  name  or  two  from  Utah  is 
inscribed  on  this  high  platform.  The  workmanship  is  of  a 
very  high  grade,  and  critics  of  our  own  age  confess  that  it 
equals  any  modern  work  of  art  in  every  particular.  The  rocks 
are  immense  in  size,  mostly  12  feet  long,  4  feet  thick  and  8 
feet  wide.  It  is  stated  by  Professor  Seiss,  in  his  "Miracle  in 
Stone/'  that  these  rocks  were  brought  a  distance  of  700  miles 
from  the  quarries  of  Syena,  on  the  borders  of  Abyssinia,  in 
Upper  Egypt,  and  that  90  miles  of  the  journey  lay  over  a 
branch  of  the  desert  of  Sahara,  a  sandy  waste;  but  how  they 
managed  to  convey  such  ponderous  blocks  so  far,  is  a  query  to 
the  scientific  world.  Herodotus  does  not  enlighten  us  much 
on  this  question,  he,  however,  mentions  a  machine  made  of 
short  pieces  of  wood  whereby  they  were  enabled  to  raise  the 
immense  rock  from  one  step  to  another  above  it.  That  is  all 
our  information  on  so  great  a  question;  as  there  are  none  of 
the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  that  throw  light  upon  it,  we  are 
simply  left  to  conjecture  how  it  was  done.  There  is  an  account 
in  "Chambers'  Information  for  the  People"  ( Vol.  ii,  page  487)r 
which  states  that  the  Egyptians  were  adepts  in  mechanical 
expedients,  and  conveyed  their  rocks,  often  weighing  1,000 
tons,  by  means  of  sledges,  the  men  being  yolked  in  rows  with 
rings  fastened  to  the  rock  and  ropes  attached,  and  as  many 
men  were  in  this  wise  attached  as  could  drag  the  block  along; 
that  it  took  a  long  time  to  reach  the  pyramid  one  can  easily 


THE* SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMKS.  23 

conjecture.  Chambers  tells  of  one  instance  that  required  2,000 
men  three  years  to  bring  a  single  rock  to  its  place  of  deposit. 
When  possible,  they  conveyed  them  on  floats  on  the  Nile;  but 
it  must  have  cost  a  great  labor  and  expense  to  convey  the  im- 
mense pile  of  material  composing  the  pyramid,  over  the  90 
miles  of  loose,  shifting  sand,  from  Syena  to  the  Nile.  The 
men  were  trained  to  pull  together  to  the  cadence  of  a  song, 
and  there  were  men  ready  with  jars  to  throw  water  on  the 
ground  before  the  sledges.  A  master  to  each  squad 
of  men  was  in  attendance,  .to  mark  the  time  of  the  song, 
so  that  all  would  pull  simultaneously. 

Herodotus  states  that  a  causeway  was  made  from  the  edge 
of  the  Nile  to  the  plateau  where  the  building  was  being 
erected,  and  that  it  was  8,000  feet  long,  60  feet  wide,  and  was 
beautifully  sculptured  and  finished,  by  aid  of  which  they  were 
enabled  to  drag  the  huge  blocks  up  the  causeway,  and  with  the 
lever  and  inclined  plane  they  placed  the  rocks  in  position.  The 
height  of  the  causeway  commenced  like  a  sharp  wedge  at  the 
river;  it  arose  to  48  feet  at  the  plateau.  This  grand  piece  of 
masonry  was  exhumed  from  the  sand  where  it  has  so  long 
been  hid,  and  found  to  be  as  described  by  Herodotus.  On  the 
sides  the  hieroglyphics  give  a  true  history  of  the  tools  and 
implements  used  in  the  times  we  are  describing.  The  archi- 
tect spared  no  time  or  expense  in  the  work  of  this  causeway, 
as  the  fine  cut  stone  and  pictures  on  its  sides  testify.  Here, 
then,  is  a  monument  of  artistic  skill  unsurpassed  by  man, 
even  in  modern  times,  with  all  of  his  inventions.  The  ques- 
tion will  be  asked,  why  did  not  the  king  use  the  rock  imme- 
diately under  the  pyramid  to  rear  his  building?  This  is  readily 
answered  by  stating  that  anciently  nothing  but  hardened  cop- 
per was  known  or  used  in  the  manufacture  of  tools,  and  the 
limestone  could  be  wrought  with  them,  whereas  the  red  granite 
could  not  be  easily  worked,  its  flinty  nature  turning  the  edge 
of  the  best  tools  known.  The  king,  therefore,  chose  to  bring 
the  material  from  a  distance,  and  have  rock  that  he  could 
fashion  as  he  desired.  It  would  have  taken  ten  times  as  long 
to  prepare  six  millions  of  tons  of  flinty  granite,  that  being  the 


24  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

quantity  used  in  the  great  building,  as  the  same  amount  of 
soft  limestone. 

The  pyramid  stands  on  the  30th  degree  of  latitude,  north 
of  the  equator,  and  is,  therefore,  the  perpendicular  or  plum- 
line  of  the  earth,  and  as  Pyazza  Smythe  states,  on  the  exact 
centre  of  the  land  portion  of  our  globe,  which  proves  that 
something  vastly  important  was  intended  by  its  architect, 
something  requiring  no  less  than  the  earth's  centre  as  a  base, 
but  this  point  we  will  fully  explain  in  the  chapter  on  the  con- 
stellations. Our  patriarch  father  knowing  that  nothing  short 
of  a  wonder  would  attract  all  nations  to  this  master  stone  book, 
erected  an  altar  so  large  that  it  could  never  be  lost  or  hid  away 
in  some  dark  recess,  to  moulder  and  decay  like  the  stupendous 
edifices  of  the  eastern  and  western  world. 

Now,  having  sufficiently  described  the  great  pyramid  for 
present  purposes,  we  will  endeavor  to  explain  its  use  and  the 
object  of  its  erection.  As  before  stated,  Abraham,  the  archi- 
tect, knowing  that  in  the  end  of  the  time,  when  the  Gentiles  were 
come  to  the  fullness,  and  apostles  and  prophets  would  again 
be  restored,  that  there  would  be  needed  a  sure  guide,  a  monu- 
ment that  had  always  been  in  sight  of  the  different  generations 
who  should  come  after  him.  To  prove  that  this  great  record 
had  not  been  put  up  by  any  new  sect,  or  religious  body,  con- 
structed it  to  portray  in  signs,  marks,  symbols,  types  and  star- 
markings,  dates  and  great  events,  what  would  come  to  pass 
before  the  end  of  this  week  of  Satan,  as  the  six  thousand  years, 
from  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  end  of  the  world,  is  called  by 
some,  therefore,  that  the  prophets  understood  what  the  build- 
ing was  reared  for.  Joseph,  when  in  the  palace  of  Pharaoh  could 
look  upon  the  great  pyramid,  and  when  the  exodus  transpired, 
the  children  of  Israel,  under  Moses,  had  to  pass  near  it  on  their 
way  to  the  Red  Sea;  the  great  law-giver  thus  probably  knew 
the  object  of  its  erection.  Isaiah  knew  it  to  be  for  a  sign  and 
witness  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  so  records  it  in  his  19th  chap., 
verses  19  and  20.  The  building  was  a  land-mark  for  many 
miles,  from  any  point  of  the  compass.  It  could  be  distinctly 
seen  from  Alexandria  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile;  also  from 


THE  SKINS  OF  THE  TIM  KS.  25 

• 

Memphis,  the  capital  city  of  Egypt.  During  the  time  of  Jos- 
eph, Moses,  and  the  Exodus,  and  from  the  city  of  On,  and  on 
the  desert  which  lay  immediately  behind  it,  it  was  a  land- 
mark most  conspicuous.  The  Israelites,  while  under  their 
cruel  task-masters,  could  lift  up  their  eyes  from  Goshen  and 
see  the  emblem  of  deliverance  from,  all  trials  and  tribulations 
after  their  former  and  latter-day  brethren  had  suffered  even  as 
they.  It  is  only  through  tribulation  we  can  expect  to  win  sal- 
vation; as  the  Redeemer  suffered  to  give  us  redemption  through 
the  atonement,  so  we  must  be  in  some  degree  like  Him,  to 
join  Him  in  the  mansions  He  is  preparing. 

Now,  where  is  Israel,  on  whom  so  many  promises  are 
centered?  Judah  is  scattered  over  all  the  earth.  Nine  and  a 
half  tribes  are  in  the  north  country.  Benjamin  is  in  a  scat- 
tered condition,  for,  after  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  apostles 
who  were  of  that  tribe,  carried  the  gospel  to  the  world.  Paul 
was  sent  to  the  Gentiles;  for  the  wild  olive  branches  could,  by 
being  grafted  into  the  tame  olive  become  part  of  the  tree  (Rom- 
ans  Hth  chap.  17th  to  27th  verses);  but  we  must  look  to  Ephraim^ 
the  first-born  of  Israel,  who  was  blessed  by  Jacob  before  his  elder 
brother  Manasseh,  and  who  received  the  birthright  through 
the  transgression  of  Reuben(  see  j  Chronicles  oth  chap.,  1st 
and  2nd  verses)tev  great  works  in  the  last  days;  and  where 
is  he?  We  trace  him  in  the  dispersion,  under  Shalamanezer 
king  of  Assyria,  to  the  borders  of  the  Arctic  regions,  thence 
back  to  Normandy  and  Saxony  and  the  British  Isles,  the 
greater  group  of  the  tribe  settling  in  Saxony  and  when  that 
country(England)was  taken  by  the  Saxons  we  have  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy  that  Israel  should  pos- 
sess the  gates  of  her  enemies(  Gen .  xxii,  17)being  literally  fulfilled. 
The  English  nation  is,  therefore,  according  to  all  signs  and 
texts,  the  nation  spoken  of  by  the  prophets,  for  they  do  pos- 
sess the  gates  of  their  enemies,  which  means  the  holding  of 
the  entrances  to  the  nations,  or  water-ways;  and  to  show  this 
we  note  their  possession  of  the  Guernsey  Islands,  in  the  Eng- 
lish Channel,  which  is  nearer  France  than  England,  as  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  speak  the  French  language;  then 


26  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

t 

Gibraltar  and  Malta,  the  gates  of  the  Mediterranean;  the  Suez 
Canal,  the  gate  to  the  Red  Sea  in  Egypt  and  to  the  Indian 
Ocean;  the  Island  of  Perim  in  the  Straits  of  Babelmandeb  in 
the  Red  Sea;  Socata  and  Aden  covering  Arabia  and  Peshawar; 
the  gate  from  India,  Afghanistan,  Bombay,  Calcutta,  Madras, 
Rangoon,  in  the  Irawaddy  River,  commanding  the  entrance 
to  the  Burmah  nation;  the  gates  of  Hong  Kong,  Penang 
Mallacca,  Singapore  and  Cowloon.  Now  we  come  to  an  im- 
portant point;  does  England  hold  the  gates  to  America,  the 
land  of  Joseph?  She  does  in  partnership  with  her  brother 
Manasseh,  as  he  owns  America  by  birthright  or  right  of  pos- 
session, therefore  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  hold  the  Golden  Gate 
at  San  Francisco,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and,  as  we  have  gone  round  the  world  surely  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  hold  the  gates  of  their  enemies.  Shall  they  alwavs 
hold  them?  Only  on  condition  of  obedience  to  the  revealed 
commands  of  God.  For  transgressing  His  commands  the 
tribes  were  scattered,  and  their  countries  given  to  the  Gentiles, 
but  God  has  again  spoken  and  expects  Israel  to  obey.  The 
command  was  "Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  partake 
not  of  her  sins  and  receive  not  of  her  plagues." 

Israel  and  Judah  were  punished  seven  times  for  trans- 
gression. In  725  B.  C.  the  House  of  Israel  was  taken  captive 
to  the  north  country  when  they  entered  upon  the  seven  times 
of  punishment  (Leviticus  xxvi,  14-46.)  Now,  when  Ephraim 
(England)  made  her  treaty  with  Manasseh  (America),  A.  D. 
1783,  she  commenced  to  prosper.  The  seven  times  ended,  and 
the  return  of  Israel  commenced.  This  being  the  land  of  Jos- 
eph and  he  the  firstborn  by  partriarchal  blessing,  conferring 
his  right  on  his  two  sons  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  They  com- 
menced in  the  year  1783  to  return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers? 
the  land  of  Joseph.  The  prophet  Hosea(w,  l-3)speaks  of  Ephraim 
and  his  return  thus:  "After  two  days  he  would  revive  us  and 
the  third  day  he  would  raise  us  up."  Now,  the  prophetic  day 
in  Israel  was  counted  one  thousand  years  which  was  God's 
mode  of  computing  time;  the  two  days,  therefore,  would  be 
2,000  years.  Now,  in  the  the  third  day  of  the  3,000  years,  not 


THK  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIM  MS  27 

at  the  end,  or  past  meridian  (Israel  computed  time  at  the 
middle  of  the  day)  we  shall  see  how  these  figures  give  us  the 
time  of  reviving.  In  the  year  1783  America  was  given  by 
treaty  to  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  add  the  725  years  B.  C. 
when  the  Israelites  were  carried  away  captive,  and  you  have 
the  past  of  the  middle  of  the  third  day  2508,  so  we  say  Israel 
headed  by  the  firstborn,  Ephraim,  is  now  reviving,  and  let 
us  inquire  if  he  knows  the  Lord,  as  Hosea  says  (mi),  would  be  the 
only  way  God  would  accept  him,  (13-16  verses)  for  how  he  will 
deal  with  him  if  he  does  not  find  God  and  know  Him. 

This  gospel  of  a  tangible  God  with  body,  parts  and  pas- 
sions was  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  and  the  fullness  of  this 
restoration  of  Israel  in  our  day,  agreeing  exactly  in  dates  and 
particulars.  We,  therefore,  know  the  Lord.  The  Book  of 
Mormon  and  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants  were  presented  to 
Queen  Victoria,  who,  some  writers  claim,  is  a  literal  descend- 
ant of  the  house  of  David  (see  Lost  Ten  Tribes  by  Joseph  Wild  D. 
D.)  but  she  did  not  accept  the  call  to  "come  out  of  her,"  my  peo- 
ple and  to  know  the  Lord,  but  to  this  day,  in  their  book  of  com- 
mon prayer,  they  acknowledge  a  God  without  body,  parts  or 
passions — a  nonentity  or  nothing.  The  Ephraimites  will  in 
the  day  of  revival  hear  the  voice  of  the  Shepherd  and  will  an- 
swer by  name,  for,  although  it  might  be  asked  what  is  in  a 
name  we  think  much  depends  upon  it.  No  people  can  lay 
claim  to  being  Saints  but  the  early  Christians  and  the  Latter- 
day  Saints.  Why?  asks  one.  Because  a  church  is  known  by 
the  name  it  takes.  History  accounts  for  only  two  churches — 
Former-day  Saints  (early  Christians)  and  Latter-day  Saints 
(last-day  Christians).  The  Savior  placed  in  His  church  apos- 
les  and  prophets,  pastors,  teachers,  etc;  healings,  gifts,  miracles 
and  tongues.  Does  any  sect  answer  to  this  description  but  the 
Latter-day  Saints?  No,  the  early  Christians  did  until  they 
were  driven  from  the  earth,  and  the  year  570  saw  the  last  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  of  former  days.  In  the  year  1830  it  was  re- 
stored with  every  officer,  gift  and  ordinance.  A  few  of  the  inhab- 
ants  of  Babylon  are  taking  the  warning  and  fleeing  to  Zion.  They 
are  of  Ephraim.  These  have  forsaken  all:  native  land,  kin- 


28  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

dred,  home,  natural  ties,  the  graves  of  their  loved  ones  and,  in 
some  instances,  husbands  and  wives,  to  learn  God.  Here  His 
royal  Priesthood  are  honored. 

One  pyramid  sign  of  Ephraim  is  the  grand  gallery  which 
measures  in  cubic  inches  36  millions,  and  in  straight  line 
measurement  the  same  gallery  measures  1,882  inches,  which 
singular  to  relate,  was  the  number  of  England  in  that  very 
year  (1882)  so  that  we  have  the  mark  of  the  tribe,  as  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Ephraimites  came  from  England.  Another 
sign  of  the  restoration  of  this  date  (1882)  is  in  the  Queen's 
Chamber:  in  the  year  referred  to,  the  Jews  in  all  the  world 
numbered  just  nine  millions,  which  is  the  cubic  inch  measure 
of  the  Queen's  Chamber,  or  place  of  the  Jews,  as  it  is  called, 
in  that  year  1882,  and,  most  singular  to  state,  in  that  same  year 
the  little  horn  prefigured  by  Daniel  was  making  war  on  the 
Saints.  For  in  1882  the  nation  passed  the  Edmund's  law,so  called, 
and  Ephraim  is  to  be  prevailed  against  from  that  mark  1882  until 
1891,  which  will  be  further  explained.  Now,  we  have  shown 
that  the  majority  of  Ephraim  is  of  England;  but,  says  an  object- 
or they  (England)  do  not  speak  the  language  of  Ephraim.  We 
read  that  the  sons  of  God,  in  the  restoration  would  speak 
another  tongue  (Zephdnia,  Hi,  9).  Now,  did  it  never  strike  you, 
dear  reader,  that  the  English  language  is  gaining  prestige  in 
all  the  world,  that  nations  owning  possessions  round  the  globe 
make  that  a  fact,  and  that  America,  the  land  of  Joseph,  are  al- 
most all  English  speaking,  most  speakers  and  lecturers  ad  opting 
that  form  of  utterance?  Thus  the  prophecy  is  being  literally 
fullfiled.  As  present  indications  are,  it  is  destined  to  become 
universal.  The  Ephraimites,  then,  predominate  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  Norman,  ancient  Briton,  also  in  England,  and,  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  among  the  Scandinavians,  etc.,  in 
which  countries  we  trace  them  in  their  wanderings.  Now,  the 
Jewish  language  had  only  7,000  words,  whereas  the  English 
has  100,000,  according  to  Chambers,  and  in  English  there  are 
1,000  Hebrew  roots,  in  the  names  of  persons  and  places.  We 
hope,  therefore,  dear  reader,  that  we  know  without  doubt  who 
the  people  of  God  are,  where  they  are,  and  where  Zion  is;  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  29 

we  will  in  future  chapters  prove  more  about  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  We  now  turn  to  the  inside  of  the  pyramid,  and  note 
its  curious  signs,  symbols,  and  star-markings,  measurements 
etc.,  which  will  be  the  subject  of  our  next  lecture. 


CHAPTER    III. 

INSIDE    OP    THE    GREAT    PYRAMID. 

THE  date  of  the  building  of  the  pyramid  is  set  at  2170  B.  C., 
which  is  plainly  marked  by  the  different  tubes  and  passages  in 
the  building,  as  the  shafts  and  openings  were  made  to  mark  the 
position  of  certain  stars,  which  we  will  explain  as  we  proceed. 
Our  best  proof  that  Abraham  was  the  architect  of  this  build- 
ing is  that,  firstly,  it  was  built  when  Egypt  was  at  its  climax 
in  idolatry,  yet,  not  one  of  its  many  gods  are  found  painted  or 
sculptured  in  all  the  stupendous  fabric;  nor  yet  on  any  of  its 
approaches,  nor  even  on  the  mighty  causeway,  but  on  the 
other  pyramids  the  individual  gods  of  the  founders  or  occu- 
pants wer<3  always  found,  and  the  hieroglyphics  on  every  one 
of  them  show  the  gods  and  persons  for  whom  they  were  built; 
secondly,  no  painting  or  hieroglyphic  is  found  in  or  around 
the  pyramid,  except  two  insignificant  ones  in  the  narrow  pas- 
sage between  the  Grand  Gallery  and  the  ante-chamber,  which 
merely  refer  to  the  two  brother  kings  of  Egypt,  Cheops  and 
Cephren,  proving  that  the  building  was  not  of  Egyptian  struc- 
ture; for  they  invariably  covered  their  great  buildings  with 
sculpture  and  hieroglyphics  of  their  gods,  but  so  modest  was 
the  architect  of  this  vast  structure,  that  he  left  not  a  trace  of 
his  name  or  object  to  signify  it  in  the  building.  At  this  time, 
let  it  be  remembered,  Israel  was  not  born,  and  one  capable  of 
rearing  such  a  structure  would,  if  an  idolator,  would  have  been 


30  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

sure  to  place  his  name  there  that  it  might  be  transmitted  to  fu- 
ture ages,  but  Abraham  was  a  meek  servant  of  God,  who  left  it 
for  the  faithful  to  discover,  by  inspiration,  who  was  the  architect. 
The  third  proof  that  the  Egyptians  were  not  the  builders  is, 
that  it  is  built  throughout  astronomically,  and,  at  that  time, 
2170  B.  C.,  we  learn  by  history,  and  by  the  hieroglyphics  of 
the  period,  and  even  before,  that  they  understood  nothing 
about  astronomy;  and  Josephus,  a  Jewish  historian,  states  that 
Abraham  taught  the  Egyptians  astronomy,  and  the  best  proof 
of  this  is  that  after  his  time  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  were 
plentifully  bestowed  in  representation  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
We  now  turn  to  the  star-markings  of  the  great  pyramid. 
The  south  polar  star,  at  that  time,  2170,  looked  down  a  tube 
on  the  south  side  of  the  building  made  of  red  granite,  and 
which  is  eight  inches  in  diameter,  nicely  polished,  and  runs 
to  the  king's  chamber  and  marks  a  period  about  250  inches 
from  the  entrance,  and  as  the  inch,  in  the  pyramids,  denotes 
one  year  in  time,  about  the  year  250  of  the  Millennium  we 
shall  have  some  great  event  which  we  are  unable  to  explain 
at  present,  but  we  can  assure  our  readers,  who  remain  faithful 
till  that  period,  that  they  will  find  the  star  in  its  place  as 
marked  in  the  pyramid.  On  the  opposite  side  there  is  another 
tube  of  the  same  size  and  material,  and  although  at  a  differ- 
ent angle,  marks  the  position  of  the  north  polar  star  at  the 
date  2170,  B.  C.  and  strikes  the  grand  gallery  at  the  twelfth 
inch  from  the  south  end,  and  as  the  gallery  measures  1891 
inches  (according  to  Orson  Pratt's  interpretation  of  the  stone 
step  which  we  will  explain)  12  from  91  leaves  79  so  in  the 
year  1879,  the  polar  star  Uranus  (which  was  polar  star  at  the 
time  2170)  is  to  mark  some  great  event  in  that  year,  and  as 
that  year  is  already  past,  the  event  was  that  the  star  Uranus 
appeared,  as  truly  as  he  is  marked  in  the  pyramid,  and  in  that 
year  1879  he  governed  a  4  planet  perihelion  of  planets,  and 
marked  the  beginning  of  signs,  we  believe,  that  were  pre- 
dicted by  our  Savior,  as  appearing  in  the  last  days,  who, 
when  asked  by  His  disciples  what  would  be  the  sign  of  His 
coming  and  of  the  end  of  the  world,  said  "There  will  be  signs 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  31 

in  the  heavens,  and  on  earth;  earthquakes  in  divers  places, 
etc."  (Matthew  xxiv).  Uranus  gives  the  first  sign,  which  with 
its  mates  remained  in  perihelion  until  1881,  when  we  had  the 
second  great  sign:  a  perihelia  of  five  planets,  and,  as  there 
have  never  been  five  planets  in  perihelia  before  in  all  planet 
history,  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  our 
Lord;  the  polar  star,  therefore,  gave  us  a  sure  mark  both  of  the 
building,  and  also  of  the  great  sign  of  destruction  which  com- 
menced in  that  year,  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  flew  through  the 
midst  of  heaven  with  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  those 
who  dwell  on  earth,  saying  with  a  loud  voice,  "Fear  God,  and 
give  glory  to  Him  for  the  hour  of  His  judgment  is  come." 

Now,  according  to  good  authority,  sixty  years  with  us  is 
one  hour  with  God,  and,  as  the  angel  came  in  1830  with  wit- 
nesses sufficient  to  prove  to  honest  minds,  that  He  did  come 
in  that  year;  for  four  witnesses  have  given  their  names  to  the 
world  in  testimony  thereof.  We  know,  therefore,  that  the 
prophetic  hour  commenced  in  that  year.  During  the  first 
part  of  that  hour  God  sent  messengers  to  almost  every  nation 
proclaiming  that  the  kingdom  had  come,  and  within  the  last 
ten  minutes  of  the  hour  He  has  preached  with  judgments, 
and  since  1879  the  world's  statistics  record  earthquakes,  as  on 
on  the  Isle  of  Java  where  300,000  lost  their  lives;  another  in  the 
Grecian  Archipelago  where  a  city  was  hurled  down  in  a 
moment,  and  thousands  perished.  Read  the  record  of  lives 
lost  by  cyclones  since  the  year  1879  which  is  one  hundred 
times  greater  than  in  any  previous  year.  Let  us  note  a  few  only 
In  the  year  1885  there  were  172  tornadoes;  on  the  19th  of  Feb. 
one  which  killed  800  persons,  and  wounded  2500,  demolish- 
ing 15,000  homes  and  sweeping  millions  of  dollars  worth  of 
property  out  of  existence;  and  since  the  year  1879  there  have 
been  earthquake  shocks  in  different  parts  of  our  globe,  one 
for  every  day  of  the  year.  The  record  of  accidents  by  rail- 
road since  1879  is  unparalleled,  as  also  that  of  destructions  by 
fire;  the  sea's  dark  record  is  appalling  in  wrecks  and  loss  of  life. 

The  next  great  star  mark  is  Draconis,  or  the  Dragon,  as 
it  is  termed  in  Revelation,  located  in  the  constellation  of  the 


32  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

Serpent.     At  the  building  of  the  pyramid  it  shone  down  the 
entrance  passage  to  the  lower  room,  which  is  located  just  100 
feet  below  the  foundation,  and  was  placed  there  to  represent 
the  lower  regions,  or  prison  house  for  refractory  spirits  until 
the  time  of  restitution,  and  is  the  only  star  that  ever  did  look 
down  into  that  miserable  room.     It  is  recorded  by  Professor 
Seiss  that  the  Turks  under  Al  Mamoun  when  they  first  entered 
this  lower   room  were  overcome  x  by  the  fumes   of    sulphur 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  had  to  be  carried  out  before  they 
could  be  restored  to  consciousness.     He  states,  on  page  84  of 
his   book,  that  the  astronomical  markings  of   the   pyramid 
are    proved  to  be   time   charts.      The  tubular  passages    are 
scrolls  of  human  history  and  the  notations  of  the  one  cor- 
respond exactly  with   the   fulfillment  of  the  other,  or  world's 
history.     To  illustrate:     the  entrance  passage  is  downward, 
directly  under  a  Dragon  star,  reaching  to  the  room  called  the 
bottomless  pit,  but  the  inch  markings  on  each  side  of  the  pas- 
sage give  the  year  from  the  building  of  the  pyramid  to  the 
end  of  time;  thus,  the  first  ascending  passage  marks  exactly 
the  time  of  the  exodus,  628  years  from  the  time  the  entrance 
passage  was  made  to  the  date  of  Israel's  leaving  Egypt,  of  the 
world's  history  2577.     The  first  ascending  passage  commences 
at  that  date,  then  the  inch  marks  give  a  sure  guide  for  the 
mark  1542  inches,  or  years  to  the  end  of  said  passage-way. 
Before  entering  the  Grand  Gallery,  and  describing  its  interest- 
ing symbols,  let  us  trace  the  course  of   the  Dragon  from  the 
Fall  of  Adam  to  the  end  of  the  world;  and  here  we  observe, 
that   the   term  "end  of  the  world"  signifies  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  wickedness,  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  right- 
eousness which  will  endure  forever.     The  position  of  the  Dra- 
gon star  at  the  fall  of  Adam   was  exactly  overhead,  or  high 
meridian.     The  pyramid  stands  on  the  perpendicular  of  the 
earth  which  stands  at  an  angle  of  23  degrees  north   up,  and 
south   down   the  perpendicular  or  plumb-line  of   the   earth 
which  is  on  the  30th  degree  north  of  the  equator,  exactly  the 
position  of  the  pyramid,  and  still  more  singular,  the  pyramid 
stands  on  the  exact  center  of  the  land  portion  of  our  globe; 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  33 

thus  we  have  the  symbol  of  the  impartiality  of  God,  who, 
through  His  servant  placed  his  altar  or  "sign  and  witness"  on 
the  center  and  perpendicular  of  our  globe.  The  position  of 
the  Serpent,  a  constellation  of  stars,  was  at  high  meridian  at 
that  time,  the  Fall  of  Adam,  the  Dragon  being  one  of  the  stars 
in  the  constellation  of  the  Serpent;  thus,  that  reptile  beguiled 
Eve  and  she  fell.  This  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  if  nothing 
more;  but  we  assure  our  readers  that  it  is  more  than  a  coinci- 
dence, a  symbol  of  the  great  kingdom  of  the  latter-days 
which  we  will  show  in  the  dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  We 
read  (Rev.  xii.)  what  the  Dragon  would  do  to  destroy  the  wo- 
man and  child  (the  Church  of  Christ)  but  was  not  to  succeed, 
and  that  the  Dragon  "gave  power  to  the  beast."  Now,  the 
beast  means  Babylon,  and  Babylon,  the  world,  and  the  world 
the  wicked  people  of  the  earth,  so  that  the  wicked  derive  their 
power  from  the  Dragon.  We  have  then,  at  once,  a  key,  for  if 
the  Dragon  gives  power  to  the  beast  we  would  like  to  know 
his  position,  and  when  he  will  wane,  or  cease  to  have  power 
over  the  earth,  which  is  all  nicely  shown  in  the  pyramid  and 
in  the  circle  that  surrounds  it  (in  our  illustration)  we  trace  a 
period  of  12,000  years.  This  circle  of  time  is  obtained  by 
placing  the  point  of  the  compass  in  the  center  of  the  pyramid 
at  the  foundation,  and  the  other  point  at  the  top  of  the  build- 
ing, then  making  the  circle  with  the  compass  and  we  have 
it  squared,  which  exactly  fits  the  square  of  the  base  of  the 
building.  The  four  corners  of  the  foundation  would  rest  on 
this  circle  when  laid  horizontally  as  the  radius  does  the  build- 
ing proper  with  circle.  We  thus  get  the  12,000  year  circle  of 
time,  and  the  Dragon  star  was  exactly  at  zenith  or  high  meri- 
dian at  the  time  of  the  Fall,  the  serpent,  then  standing  pre- 
cisely overhead,  or  over  the  earth,  with  head  erect,  on  its  feet, 
so  to  speak;  the  Dragon  on  the  meridian  or  looking  down  the 
plumb-line  of  the  earth.  That  this  was  the  position  of  the 
Dragon  at  the  Fall,  all  astronomers  agree. 

Now,  the  Dragon  star,  as  marked  in  the  pyramid,  com- 
menced his  downward  course,  and  Adam  and  Eve  being 
driven  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  commenced  their  down- 


34  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

ward  course  also,  their  descendents  being  on  the  downward 
journey,  or  a  great  majority  of  them,  and  we  show,  by  this 
circle  of  time  and  the  Dragon  star,  when  this  downward 
tendency  will  terminate.  From  the  Fall  of  Adam,  as  marked 
by  the  Dragon  at  upper  meridian  of  the  building,  at  the 
entrance  passage  we  have  exactly  1949  years.  We  get  this 
result  in  two  ways:  first,  the  Dragon,  then,  was  looking  down 
the  entrance  passage,  mark  it,  at  that  identical  time,  the  year 
1949  from  the  fall  of  Adam;  secondly,  the  entrance  or  mouth 
of  the  passage-way,  gives  in  the  outer  frame-work,  (the  stones 
that  are  so  nicely  fitted  with  arched  rocks  and  beautiful  key- 
stone) the  remarkable  measurement  in  cubic  inches  of  1949 
inches,  or  the  key  that  the  Dragon  has  been  governor  1949 
years.  From  that  time,  the  building  of  the  pyramid,  to  the 
birth  of  Christ,  measuring  from  the  mouth  or  entrance,  we 
have  just  2170  inches,  the  exact  years  from  the  building  of 
the  pyramid  to  the  birth  of  Christ;  thence  from  the  birth  of 
Christ  the  entrance  to  the  Grand  Gallery  1882  inches  to  the  end, 
which  is  the  straight  line  measure  of  the  Grand  Gallery.  Thus 
we  have  in  demonstrated  marks,  the  duration  of  the  Dragon, 
1949,  plus  2170,  plus  1882,  making  exactly  6001  years,  which 
is  the  week  of  Satan,  the  Creator  having  taken  six  days  to 
frame  the  earth,  and  Satan  probably  demanding  a  similar 
time  to  try  to  rear  himself  a  kingdom,  the  Father  in  His 
mercy  and  justice,  let  him  try.  The  result  we  know,  being 
under  his  power  for  a  time,  but  deliverance  comes  on  the 
beginning  there  of  1891,  or  the  exact  end  of  the  measurement 
of  the  week  of  Satan.  At  that  time,  1891 ,  the  Dragon  will  be  at 
lower  meridian,  precisely  opposite  where  he  was  at  the  Fall 
and  the  Serpent,  one  of  the  group  of  stars  which  form  the  con- 
stellation, will  be  on  its  back,  instead  of  standing  erect  as  at 
the  time  of  the  Fall.  The  Dragon,  which  is  one  of  the  feet, 
will  be  looking  upward,  along  the  line  or  perpendicular,  as  if 
pleading  for  mercy.  Then  commences  the  upward  travel  of 
the  Saints,  they  being  under  the  guidance  of  the  Shepherd 
star,  for,  curious  to  relate,  precisely  as  the  Dragon  is  passing 
under  the  lower  meridian,  the  Shepherd  arises  and  takes  the 


THE  SIG-XS  OF  THE  TIMES.  35 

upper;  this  star  representing  the  Shepherd  of  Israel,  being 
located  in  the  constellation  of  Aries  (or  the  ram)  we  thereafter 
shall  be  governed  by  the  Shepherd,  a  guarantee  of  a  better 
reign.  We  commence  our  upward  journey,  as  the  circle 
plainly  shows,  under  a  shepherd,  therefore,  brethren,  look  for 
the  reign  of  righteousness  to  commence  in  the  year  1891,  and 
during  the  journey  upward  from  1891,  or  lower  meridian,  we 
shall  gain  the  knowledge  to  become  children  of  our  great 
Father! 

As  soon  as  we  enter  the  pyramid  the  sign-marks,  on  each 
side  of  the  passage,  are  finely  cut  and  polished  to  represent 
something  important,  and  as  the  inch,  in  the  pyramid,  gives 
one  year,  we  have  exact  dates  for  all  that  occurred  from  1949 
to  2170  B.  C.  These  lines  run  cross- wise  to  the  passage,  at 
irregular  intervals,  up  the  side  of  the  wall,  as  if  to  represent 
some  extra  event,  as,  for  instance,  the  epoch  of  the  burning 
bush  is  clearly  marked  by  a  long  line  up  the  wall,  at  the  exact 
year  represented  in  sacred  writ;  then  we  have  the  Exodus  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  passages  where  the  choice  can  be  made 
either  to  the  right  hand  up  to  the  place  of  the  atonement, 
or  the  left  downward  to  the  bottomless  pit  or  prison-house. 

A  curious  incident  is  related  of  this  junction  of  the  two 
passages,  by  Prof.  Seiss,  relating  to  the  Turks  under  Al  Ma- 
moun,  the  Caliph  of  Egypt,  who  first  entered  the  pyramid:  the 
entrance  passage-way  was  hidden  by  the  casing  rock  which  cover- 
ed the  entire  pyramid,  and  Al  Mamoun  thinking  the  building 
was  filled  with  treasure  forced  a  passage  16  feet  from  the 
foundation.  The  original  one  was  40  feet  from  the  base. 
The  sand  of  the  desert  had  filled  up  to  that  point,  16  feet,  in 
the  year  825  of  the  Christian  Era.  The  workmen  were  a  long 
time  in  forcing  their  tunnel  through  the  hard  lime-stone,  as 
they  had  only  drills  and  dry  wooden  plugs,  which  they  wet 
and  the  expansion  would  break  off  the  piece  of  rock  required. 
By  this  slow  process  they  toiled,  and  by  chance  chose  the  spot  to 
enter  the  building  immediately  under  the  main  passage-way. 
When,  they,  the  workmen,  had  labored  a  long  time  and  found 
no  room,  or  vacuum,  they  were  on  the  point  of  abandoning 


36  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

the  scheme,  thinking  the  building  to  be  solid,  when  lo,  as  they 
were  consulting  on  the  question  of  abandonment,  and  yet  in 
the  tunnel  they  had  made,  and  on  the  very  eve  of  departure, 
a  crash  of  some  large  body  falling  is  heard  by  all;  they  bound 
to  their  feet  and  the  cry  is  "a  room,  a  room"  for  the  sound  of 
the  falling  body  plainly  indicated  that  such  was  the  fact.  The 
men  were  now  encouraged  to  prosecute  the  work  and  were  re- 
warded by  striking  the  passage  at  the  junction.  The  falling 
body  was  found  to  be  a  dove-tailed  rock,  suspended  on  an  in- 
clined plane  and  which  had  been  gradually  slipping  for  2900 
years,  and  at  the  precise  moment  that  Al  Mamoun's  men  were 
going  to  quit  their  tunnel-work,  the  rock  falls,  they  learn  that 
the  building  is  not  solid,  as  supposed,  and  open  the  great 
pyramid  to  the  world.  Now,  it  is.  supposed  that  had  Al  Ma- 
moun  been  suffered  to  fail  none  would  have  attempted  the  work 
in  future.  Skeptics  may  doubt  the  matter  of  the  falling  rock 
after  so  many  years,  but  when  they  view  the  rock  with  its 
dove-tailed  edges,  and  grooves  on  each  side,  its  gradual  incline 
and  length,  they  generally  become  converts  to  the  theory  of 
its  original  intention,  viz.,  a  rock  of  warning  that  the  build- 
ing was  not  solid.  For  a  full  description  of  this  part  of  the 
pyramid  see  "Miracle  in  Stone." 

The  Grand  Gallery  has  a  very  fine  mark  at  its  entrance 
and  a  line  running  across  the  passage-way  and  up  the  wall  on 
each  side,  which  marks  the  exact  time  of  the  birth  of  the 
Savior  in  the  4119th  year  from  the  Fall  of  Adam.  Here  the 
gallery  enlarges  from  4  feet  in  height  to  28  feet,  or  just  7 
times,  and  7  red  granite  lines  are  found  running  the  entire 
length  of  the  gallery,  which,  it  is  understood,  mark  the  seven 
dispensations,  we  being  in  the  last  or  seventh.  By  the  33 
inches  from  the  entrance  of  the  grand  gallery,  we  come  to  the 
tomb  of  the  Savior,  or  its  representation,  at  the  exact  time  re- 
corded in  the  gospels,  viz.,  33  years.  This  tomb  has  no  bottom, 
as  it  descends  through  a  long  well  and  terminates  in  the  pris- 
on-room, at  the  end  of  the  downward  passage;  which  signifies 
that  the  Savior  descended  into  the  prison-house  after  death, 
and  preached  to  the  captives,  that  through  the  atonement  they 
might  have  a  way  of  escape.  Precisely  at  this  33  inches  from 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


37 


the  entrance  of  the  Grand  Gallery  a  passage-way  runs  horizon- 
tally from  the  tomb  of  the  Savior,  or  place  of  the  Jews,  as  it 
is  named  by  pyramid  readers.  Its  real  name,  however,  is  the 
Queen's  Chamber.  It  runs  straight  and  level  to  the  entrace 
where  it  sinks  one  step,  showing  that  the  Jews  are  still  falling. 


They  will  not  arise  to  salvation  until  the  Dragon  passes  the 
lower  meridian,  when  righteousness  predominates.  Through 
the  atonement  Jesus  will  save  Judah  by  signs  and  wonders. 
There  are  56  tombs,  28  on  each  side  of  the  Grand  Gallery,  and 
it  is  thought,  by  some  of  the  Latter-day  Saints,  that  they  mark 


38  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

the  ascension  of  as  many  of  the  saints  as  arose  at  the  time  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  Savior.  Their  little  lids  are  leaning 
against  the  wall  indicating  that  they  have  been  opened,  and 
that  the  object  they  held  has  departed.  At  the  1815  inches  we 
come  to  the  stone  step  which  reaches  across  the  passage,  and  is 
three  feet  high.  The  first  dead  level  is  reached  at  this  point. 
The  great  men,  who  have  investigated  this  step,  are  at  a 
loss  to  account  for  the  greatest  sign-mark  in  the  pyramid. 
Nations  have  applied  it  to  themselves.  The  French  say  1815 
was  when  Napoleon's  star  waned.  The  English  claim  it  as 
the  year  when  the  gospel  was  sent  to  India,  but  let  us  reason 
upon  it.  Prof.  Orson  Pratt  was  inspired  to  square  this  step. 
As  the  angle  of  ascension  is  twenty-three  degrees,  he  placed 
the  square  upon  it,  and  the  squaring  of  that  angle  gave  the 
year  1830  as  the  top  or  commencing  of  the  step,  so  the  great 
mark,  by  that  measurement  notes  the  setting  up  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  through  Joseph  Smith.  Now,  who,  in  all  the 
world  can  claim  that  year  as  the  time  of  the  setting  up  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ?  Simply,  the  "Mormons."  The  Prophet 
Daniel,  in  his  vision  of  the  four  beasts,  wherein  we  get  the 
world's  history,  gives  that  as  the  time  when  the  kingdom 
should  be  set  up  never  to  be  thrown  down.  In  our  lecture  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  we  will  prove  this  point.  Now,  the 
square  is  the  key  to  the  pyramid,  and  by  laying  it  on  the 
angle  23,  which  is  the  angle  thereof,  both  outside  and  in,  and 
also  the  earth's  angle  of  inclination  we  get  Prof.  Pratt's  theory 
of  the  squaring  of  the  circle,  and  also  the  step  referred  to,  by 
placing  the  common  24  inch  square  thereon.  We  measure  in- 
to the  masonry  15  inches  to  enable  the  upward  angle  of  the 
square  to  strike  the  outer  corner  of  the  step  at  the  top,  then 
measure  61  inches  to  the  end  of  the  gallery  making  the  6(V 
years,  which  the  angel  declared  to  be  the  time  of  the  Lord, 
for  60  years  with  man  is  one  hour  with  God;  and,  in  that  year 
the  angel  proclaimed  to  Joseph  Smith  the  hour  of  God's  judg- 
ments. Now,  the  end  of  the  gallery  proves  the  end  of  the 
Christian  era,  it  began  at  the  sign -mark  of  the  birth  of  Christ, 
and  terminates  at  the  sign-mark  1891,  and  as  the  room  meas- 


THK  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  39 

ures,  in  straight  line  measurement,  1882,  and  by  squaring  the 
step  1891,  we  have  a  very  peculiar  sign  that  1882  would  be 
very  marked  in  the  history  of  the  people  of  the  kingdom,  as 
the  freedom  of  the  Grand  Gallery  ends  at  1882. 

Those  wishing  to  continue  the  journey  to  the  King's 
Chamber  must  endure  a  time  of  trial,  as  the  narrow  passage- 
way at  the  end  of  the  gallery  is  only  42  inches  high  and  lies 
under  a  shaking,  frowning  rock,  placed  overhead,  loose  and 
rolling,  but  cannot  fall  as  it  is  fitted  on  two  side  ledges 
which  support  it;  but  it  shows  the  time  of  trials  upon 
those  who  remain  steadfast  in  the  endeavor  to  reach  the 
upper  rooms  above  or  beyond  the  Grand  Gallery.  We  then 
learn  that  we  are  in  the  narrow  passage-way  according  to 
man's  time  and  that  the  little  horn  (the  United  States)  passed 
the  law  to  stop  celestial  marriage  in  1882.  Now,  dear  reader, 
is  this  chance  or  prophecy  fulfilled  in  the  time  of  the  Lord, 
1891,  as  striking  the  center  of  the  pyramid,  which  denotes 
the  center  of  time,  or  6000  years,  the  reign  of  the  Serpent? 
In  that  year  we  look  for  great  events.  We  have  shown  that 
the  Christain  Era  ends  in  that  year,  and  that  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  the  Dragon  is  then.  We  have  proved  that  the  lowest 
point  in  the  downward  scale  of  the  circle  of  time  is  then  reached, 
and  that  the  beginning  of  the  upward  tendency  is  also  in  that 
year. 

Now,  we  will  prove  by  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith  that 
the  same  year,  1891,  is  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of 
righteousness.  In  Section  130,  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  Jos- 
eph was  told  that  if  he  lived  to  be  85  years  old  he  would 
live  to  see  the  scene  wound  up  or  the  Redeemer  on  the  earth. 
He  was  born  December  23rd,  1805,  and  if  we  give  him  the  85 
years,  we  could  not  count  the  year  1805,  we  should  have  to 
count  1806,  as  the  year  1805  was  mostly  gone  before  he  was 
born,  therefore,  we  have  1806  and  85,  making  1891;  again  in 
the  year  1835  Joseph  was  told  positively  that  56  years  would 
wind  up  the  scene,  which  we  believe  was  the  reign  of  iniquity 
and  transgression:  56  and  1835  are  1891.  Thus  we  have 
abundant  proof  that  that  year  will  begin  the  reign  of  right- 


40  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

eousness,  and  God's  people  be  acknowledged,  for  the  earth  is 
to  be  given  to  them.  He  has  said:  "Fear  not,  little  flock, 
for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom." 
Therefore,  we  trust  to__see  iniquity  commence  to  wane,  on 
this  planet,  with  the  Dragon  and  (Serpent  in  189  L. 

On  leaving  the  Grand  Gallery  we  enter  the  narrow  pas- 
sage 42  inches  high,  and  leading  to  the  ante-chamber  a  room  of 
preparation.  This  passage  is  53  inches  long,  with  two  frown- 
ing rocks  hanging  overhead.  There  is  quite  a  space  above 
them,  as  they  have  been  probed,  and  a  large  vacuum  found 
there.  Our  opinion  is  that  the  records  of  the  architect  will 
be  found  above  this  aperture  of  the  two  loose  rocks,  as  in  all 
this  vast  building  no  hieroglyphic,  sculpture,  picture,  or 
device  of  any  kind  has,  so  far,  been  found  to  give  a  trace  of 
the  object  of  the  architect.  Perhaps  the  records  of  Abraham, 
the  architect,  concerning  the  pyramid  could  be  found  here, 
which,  like  many  of  the  records  of  the  family  of  God,  have 
been  hid  for  wise  purposes  until  a  certain  time  known  to  the 
Lord.  When  Cumorah  and  other  repositories  of  the  records 
of  God's  people  are  revealed  you  may  be  sure  that  the  great 
altar  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  not  be  dumb,  as  at  present,  on 
the  matter  of  record.  Parley  P.  Pratt  in  Liverpool,  England, 
prophesied  that  in  1945  the  first  conference  would  be  held 
in  the  Millennium  on  the  6th  of  April.  The  measurement  of 
the  pyramid  from  the  birth  of  Christ,  or  beginning  of  the 
Grand  Gallery,  to  entrance  of  ante-chamber  is  exactly  1945 
inches,  so  that  we  must  undergo  trials  53  years  before  the 
millennial  era,  when  a  great  battle  will  be  fought  between 
Christ  and  Satan,  prior  to  the  resurrection  morn.  The 
ante-chamber  has  a  few  interesting  rocks  for  the  general 
information  of  which  we  refer  our  readers  to  the  "Miracle  in 
Stone" 

We  pass  into  the  King's  Chamber  and  note  its  peculiari- 
ties; it  is  nearly  37  feet  long  by  17  wide,  making  what  is 
called  the  1000  inch  chamber,  representing  the  millennial  era: 
it  has  nine  large,  flat,  red,  granite,  polished  slabs  for  its  ceil, 
ing,  which  reach  from  wall  to  wall.  The  walls  are  about 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  41 

20  feet  high.  In  the  center  of  this  room  stands  the  only  arti- 
cle of  furniture  in  the  pyramid,  viz.,  a  stone  box,  length  7 
feet  6  inches,  width  3  feet  3  inches,  and  depth  3  feet  6  inches, 
made  to  represent  the  ark  of  the  covenant  that  Israel  carried 
in  the  wilderness,  its  dimensions  being  identical  in  measure- 
ment therewith.  Another  very  peculiar  coincidence  is  that 
the  King's  Chamber  was  made  the  same  size  as  the  "holy  of 
holies"  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  wilderness,  and  also  that  of 
the  holy  of  holies  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  The  chamber, 
therefore,  represents  the  millennial  year  or  day  of  the  Lord. 

Above  the  King's  Chamber  are  five  rooms,  called  the 
rooms  of  construction  which  are  reached  by  a  narrow  tube 
25  feet  up  the  south  wall  of  the  Grand  Gallery,  and  are  very 
finely  finished  on  the  walls  and  ceiling,  but  the  floors  are 
rough,  typifying  that  perfection  is  not  yet  reached.  It  is 
supposed  that  these  rooms  denote  the  degrees  of  glory.  There 
is  supposed  to  be  a  room  above  the  King's  Chamber  to  rep- 
resent the  new  Jerusalem  coming  down  from  above.  Pyazza 
Smythe,  astronomer  royal,  discovered  the  rock  of  which  it  is 
made,  in  the  yard  adjacent  to  the  building,  a  fine  granite 
rock,  enough  of  which  was  dressed  to  make  a  room  16  feet 
square,  with  three  gates  on  each  side  and  16  feet  high.  That 
this  room  will  be  found  is  believed  by  most  pyramid  readers, 
and  that  it  will  give  us  more  keys  is  plainly  forecast  in  the 
entire  structure.  The  object  of  the  building  is  to  awaken 
Israel  to  the  regeneration,  and  as  Ephraim  is  the  first  born, 
he  is  now  reading  it;  and  as  the  Latter-day  Saints  are  Eph- 
hraim  they  will  yet  decipher  it. 

Joseph  Smith  was  a  descendant  of  Joseph  and  revealed 
to  the  world  the  message  he  was  commanded  of  angels  to  de- 
liver, but  like  many  ancient  prophets  he  sealed  his  testimony 
with  his  blood,  but  he  first  set  in  order  the  kingdom  by  rev- 
elation, and  commandment.  We  know  he  was  a  true  prophet, 
and  trust  the  youth  of  Zion  know  it  also,  as  they  may  yet  be 
entrusted  with  the  keys  of  the  great  structure,  and  become 
versed  in  history,  biography,  ancient  and  modern,  and  that 
they  will  especially  study  the  sacred  scriptures  that  they  may 


42  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

have  power  to  refute  error  and  establish  the  truth  in  this  in- 
fidel age. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PERIHELIA    OF    THE    PLANETS. 

ON  the  19th  day  of  June  1881,  the  singular  phenomena 
of  five  planets  in  perihelia  transpired.  The  Salt  Lake  Herald 
commenting  upon  it,  inserted  a  diagram  in  its  columns,  of  its 
position  in  the  heavens,  with  comments  on  the  singular  phen- 
omena, arid  further 'commenting  on  the  singular  coincidence 
of  two  great  perihelia  coming  almost  together,  as  the  perihe- 
lia of  the  above  date  was  superceded  by  a  four  planet  perihelia 
which  occurred  in  the  year  1879,  a  singular  fact  of  which  was 
that  the  star  that  was  governor  of  the  perihelia  of  1879,  called 
Uranus,  and  marked  in  the  pyramid  at  the  north  air  tube, 
striking  the  Grand  Gallery  at  the  12th  inch  from  the  end,  we 
were  convinced  that  these  are  some  of  the  signs  referred  to  by 
Jesus,  who  foretold  "signs  in  the  heavens,  wars,  and  rumors  of 
wars,  earthquakes,  etc."  (Matt.  xxiv). 

Now,  students  of  the  signs  of  the  times  agree  that  the  end 
approaches.  Saints  and  sinners,  Jew  and  Gentile  believe  this 
to  be  the  evening  of  time,  and  that,  therefore,  we  may  look 
for  signs  and  wonders  on  earth  and  in  the  heavens,  as  foretold 
by  prophets  ages  ago.  Only  instance  the  fearful  accidents, 
the  daily  horrors,  devastation  by  cyclone,  water  and  fire  to 
show  that  these  are  the  last  days.  Astronomers  state  that 
this  perihelia  of  1881  has  never  had  a  parallel;  for  never  have 
five  planets  been  in  perihelia  before,  and  as  this  followed  the 
four-planet  perihelia  of  1879,  marked  in  the  pyramid  as  com- 
ing in  that  year,  which  was  followed  by  the  star  of  Bethlehem, 
which  became  visible  in  that  year,  and  now  is  shining  in  the 
constellation  of  Andromeda,  and  it  is  recorded  by  some 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TI.MKS  43 

astronomers  will  shine  brilliantly  in  the  day-time  in  1887:  this 
without  doubt,  is  markedly  indicative.  In  the  mouth  of  two 
or  three  witnesses  truth  is  established;  we  have,  then,  three 
great  signs  in  the  heavens;  viz,  the  four-planet  perihelia,  the 
five-planet  perihelia,  and  the  star  of  Bethlehem,  following  in 
succession;  the  first  recorded  in  the  pyramid  as  shown  in 
1879,  and  the  five  planets  in  perihelia  after.  We  had  Mars, 
which  is  represented  as  the  war  planet  controlling  star  or  gov- 
ernor of  the  perihelia,  we  therefore  look  for  war  after  this  ad- 
vent. The  second  planet  is  Saturn,  the  beautiful,  with  three 
rings  or  belts  of  light  and  8  moons;  next  is  Mercury,  the 
nearest  the  sun  except  the  moon,  of  any  of  the  planets. 
Mercury  requires  only  88  days  to  complete  a  revolution 
therefore  a  year  in  that  planet  is  but  88  of  OUP  days.  Next' 
in  the  perihelia,  is  Jupiter,  the  largest,  fourteen  hundred 
times  larger  than  ours,  with  4  moons;  the  5th  planet  Nep- 
tune, farthest  from  the  sun,  requires  33  years  to  complete  a  revolu- 
tion. Comstock  states  that  if  Adam  and  Eve  had  taken  rail- 
road at  the  Fall,  at  fifty  miles  an  hour  without  stoppages  they 
would  now  only  be  two-thirds  of  the  journey  from  Neptune 
to  the  sun,  and,  judging  from  our  relative  distance  from  the 
sun,  should  the  concentration  of  the  sun's  rays  be  the  same  as 
on  our  own  planet,  Neptune  must  be  frozen  through  with  no 
living  thing  upon  it.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  they  are 
not  under  the  same  laws  as  we  are,  and  other  provisions  may 
be  furnished.  We  believe  the  great  north  tube  and  star  Ura- 
nus mark  1879  is  the  sign  of  the  angels  being  in  the  land,  as 
statistics,  since  1879,  give  no  such  record  before,  as  since, 
Cyclone,  earthquake,  fire  and  flood  have  been  common  events. 
To  the  people  of  the  kingdom  this  is  not  unlocked  for.  "Be 
ye  also  ready"  is  the  warning,  Saints  understand  these  signs, 
and  will  frame  their  lives  accordingly.  Avoid  selfishness. 
"Seek  first  the  kingdom"  and  all  things  will  be  added.  Be 
valiant.  Revile  not  the  revilsr.  Let  temperance  prevail. 
Preserve  yourselves  unspotted  by  evil.  "Avoid  fleshly  lusts 
that  war  against  the  spirit,"  and  remember  these  signs  were 
given  to  warn  you  that  the  end  is  near. 


44  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CLEOPATRA'S  NEEDLES. 

THE  Cleopatra's  needles  are  two  red  granite  obelisks  or 
pillars,  96  feet. high.  One  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames 
River,  London,  the  other  in  Central  Park,  New  York.  They 
are  very  ancient,  having  been  built  by  a  king  of  Egypt, 
named  Thothmes,  the  third  king  before  Moses.  He  reared 
them  at  the  gateway  on  each  side  of  the  temple  of  the  Sun,  in 
the  city  of  On,  called  Heliopolis,  in  profane  history,  but  On 
in  scripture.  It  is  situated  4  miles  above  Memphis  on  the 
river  Nile,  and  was  a  great  college  in  the  time  of  Joseph  and 
Moses.  Joseph  was  sent  here  to  be  educated,  as  a  prince,  in 
Egyptian  lore,  and  here  he  found  his  wife,  states  the  sacred 
narrative.  He  married  the  daughter  of  the  priest  of  On. 
The  pillars  stood  at  Heliopolis  until  33  B.  C.,  when  they  were 
taken  down  and  removed  to  Alexandria  to  beautify  the  city, 
as  some  writers  say,  for  the  reception  of  Mark  Antony,  who 
was  paying  his  addresses  to  the  Egyptian  queen.  They  were 
reared  near  the  Nile  gate  to  Alexandria,  and  when  Mark 
Antony,  riding  from  his  vessel  in  a  chariot  of  queen  Cleo- 
patra, came  to  the  tall  pillars,  he  commanded  a  halt,  and 
viewing  them,  asked  where  they  came  from,  was  told  by  the 
attendants,  that  the  queen  had  brought  them  from  Heliopolis. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "they  are  truly  queen  needles,"  hence  their 
name  Cleopatra's  needles,  which  they  bear  to  this  day.  They 
were  square  and  of  red  granite,  tapering  very  gradually  from 
base  to  top,  and  on  each  side,  in  hieroglyphics,  were  recorded 
the  histories  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  The  one  in  London,  bears 
the  name  of  Thothmes,  and  records  a  period  from  1550  to 
1450  B.  C.  or  the  time  before  Moses,  Thothmes  being  the  third 
king  before  his  time;  it  also  bears  the  name  of  Ramasses  who 
lived  about  the  time  of  the  Exodus  1495  B.  C.  On  the  base 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  45 

of  the  American  needle  were  found  the  emblems  of  ancient 
masonry,  the  square  and  compass.  The  fraternity  were  elated 
at  this  find,  as  substantiating  the  order  of  Free  Masonry  in 
its  ancient  origin.  Even  the  progressive  steps  of  the  order 
are  represented  on  this  pillar,  the  three  steps  of  the  pedestal;  the 
author  being  one  of  the  fraternity  and  knowing  that  ancient 
Free  Masonry  commenced  with  Solomon  king  of  Israel,  at  the 
building  of  the  great  temple  at  Jerusalem.  How,  therefore, 
does  this  pillar  give  the  signs  or  mystic  emblems  of  the  order 
when  made  ages  before  it  existed?  We  will  endeavor  to  solve 
this  problem  historically. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  children  of  Israel,  being  the 
only  people  serving  the  true  and  living  God,  had  a  code  of 
laws,  signs,  pass-words  and  grips,  whereby  one  tribe  might 
know  another  to  be  as  represented;  for  the  mark  of  circumci- 
sion could  not  be  relied  on,  as  the  Ishmaelites  circumcised  their 
children,  therefore  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  signs 
would  exist  for  mutual  protection,  that  none  may  be  taken  into 
trust  but  the  genuine.  Thus  an  enemy  could  not  take  advan- 
tage. It  is  believed  that  after  the  flood  when  the  dispersion 
had  caused  colonies  to  settle  the  eastern  country  that  the  sons 
of  Noah,  his  son  Shern  being  at  the  head,  Melchisedec  ruling 
in  Salem,  this  order  was  known,  and  that  Abraham  taught  it 
to  Isaac,  he  to  Jacob,  and  Jacob  to  his  son  Joseph,  and  that  when 
Joseph  was  sold  by  his  brethren  to  the  Ishmaelites  he  was 
carried  into  Egypt  and  there  found  favor  with  the  king,  who 
put  him  in  college  to  learn  the  science  of  the  Egyptians. 
He,  after  marrying  the  priest's  daughter,  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose,  would  teach  his  father-in-law  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  and  living  God,  and  that  he  would  accept  the  same, 
knowing  that  Joseph's  God  had  done  so  many  mighty  things 
for  him.  Therefore,  we  presume,  the  mystery  was  given  by 
Joseph  to  his  father-in-law,  and  that  he  taught  it  to  the 
princes  and  great  ones  who  came  to  this  temple  of  learning. 
By  this  means  Thothmes  obtained  (for  we  cannot  find  another 
clue  in  sacred  or  profane  history  to  give  us  any  other  theory), 
the  emblems  recorded  on  the  American  pillar.  Solomon  was 


46 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


of  the  blood  royal,  the  son  of  David  from  whom  even  the 
Savior  of  the  world  descended.  He,  knowing  these  mysteries 
of  the  Priesthood,  with  the  aid  of  the  king  of  Tyre  organized 
the  degrees  of  workmen,  and  building  a  holy  house  used  the 
mystic  emblems,  words,  etc.  of  the  Priesthood,  with  some  vari- 
ation to  accomodate  the  different  people  engaged  in  the  work. 


The  order  after  the  completion  of  the  temple,  left  many  of 
the  lower  orders  or  degrees  without  a  knowledge  of  the  higher 
orders  of  the  master  mason,  and  it  is  supposed  that  they 
would  use  what  knowledge  they  had,  and  add  all  they  could 
to  what  they  knew  to  aid  them  to  get  employment  elsewhere; 
hence  the  decline  of  the  Priesthood,  and  the  adoption  of  the 
ancient  order.  The  knowledge  of  the  true  and  living  God, 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMKS.  47 

being  the  foundation  of  masonry,  proves  this  to  be  probable, 
as  after  Solomon's  time  it  was  carried  into  foreign  countries 
far  from  Palestine,  (where  only  the  great  Jehovah  was  known.) 
Immediately  after  the  building  of  the  temple  these  lodges 
commenced  and  increased  until  to-day  it  is  the  greatest  and 
most  honorable  society  of  men  on  earth,  being  numbered 
by  millions.  The  British  needle  was  bought  from  the  Egyptians 
and  a  vessel  made  purposely  to  handle  the  pillar  constructed. 
The  front  part  was  taken  out  and  a  small  rail-way  laid  to 
convey  the  needle  into  the  hold;  for  each  one  weighed  200  tons. 
When  snugly  shipped  they  started  with  the  needle  boat  in  tow, 
but  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  a  storm  parted  the  needle  boat  and  its 
convoy,  and  they  thought  it  had  sunk  during  the  night,  and 
returning  to  London  reported  its  loss,  but  instead  thereof, 
the  needle  boat  weathered  the  storm.  Some  fishermen 
found  the  dismasted  vessel  and  towed  it  into  Flanders.  When 
the  English  found  this  to  be  a  fact  they  claimed  their  prop- 
erty, but  the  fishermen  claimed  such  a  price  for  their  find 
that  the  English  could  not  entertain  it.  It  was  finally  left 
to  arbitration.  It  was  afterward  erected  on  the  Thames 
embankment,  a  beautiful  garden  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 
The  other  needle  was  presented  to  the  United  States.  Major 
Goring  was  sent  to  bring  the  needle  home:  he  took  ma- 
chinery and  a  ship  that  could  be  taken  apart,  and  then 
made  a  canal  from  the  Nile  to  where  the  pillar  stood,  to  be 
able  to  ship  it.  It  was,  however,  shipped  without  accident, 
reaching  New  York  safely,  and  after  immense  labor  reared 
in  Central  Park,  New  York. 


48  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CITY  OF  BABYLON,  OR  SECOND  WONDER. 

THE  city  of  Babylon,  the  capital  of  the  Babylonian 
Empire  was  situated  on  the  Euphrates  River,  about  50  miles 
south  of  Bagdad.  Its  origin  is  so  remote  that  the  time 
thereof  is  simply  traditionary.  It  is  strange  that  Herodotus 
gives  no  intimation  of  the  founder;  we,  therefore  conclude 
that  its  antiquity  was  so  great  that  this  historian  and  traveler 
could  not  satisfy  himself  concerning  its  origin.  It  was 
located  in  a  great  plain  called  Shinar,  anciently.  In  the 
midst  of  this  vast  plain,  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Euphrates, 
this  wonderful  city  was  built,  and  Nebuchadnezzar  turned 
the  river  through  its  center.  The  city  was  founded  by  Nim- 
rod,  for  we  read  (Gen.  x)  that  he  built  the  city  of  Babel,  and 
that  he  was  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord,  and  became  a 
great  king  or  leader  and  was  called  Belos,  in  the  allotment 
of  land  to  the  sons  of  Noah.  The  rich  plain  of  Shinar  was 
given  to  the  sons  of  Shem,  but  Nimrod  and  his  people 
rebelled  against  the  allotment,  left  their  territory  and  settled 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and,  with  the  rest  of  the  des- 
cendents  of  Noah  commenced  a  tower  whose  top  should  reach 
to  heaven.  They  were  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the 
flood;  and,  although  Noah  told  them  that  the  Lord  had  prom- 
ised that  the  world  should  never  again  be  drowned,  they 
doubted  and  proceeded  with  the  work,  reaching  a  height  of 
600  feet  before  they  were  stopped  by  the  confusion  of  tongues. 
This,  according  to  the  best  commentators,  was  a  most  singular 
phenomenon,  for  no  man  could  understand  his  neighbor; 
utter  confusion  reigned  and  dispersion  resulted.  There  was 
one  exception,  however:  the  brother  of  Jared,  a  mighty  man 
of  God  who,  it  is  thought,  believed  the  words  of  Noah,  but 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  49 

aided  in  the  work  of  the  tower,  either  through"  policy  or,  as 
some  writers  say,  from  compulsion.  When  he  beheld  the 
confusion  among  the  people  went  immediately  before  God, 
and  in  earnest  supplication  besought  Him  that  his  people 
might  retain  their  language,  and  the  Lord  granted  his  request 
and  they  left  the  plain  of  Shinar  and  migrated  westward 
across  the  mighty  deep,  landing  on  the  west  coast  of  America, 
where  they  multiplied  until  they  became  a  mighty  nation, 
but  were  finally  destroyed  in  a  great  civil  war  among  them- 
selves, (see  Book  of  Ether  in  Book  of  Mormon,  page  572.) 

Nebuchadnezzar,  the  son  of  Nabopolessar,  who  is  noted 
in  the  Book  of  Daniel  as  the  head  of  gold,  was  the  builder 
of  the  great  city  of  Babylon.  Nabopolessar,  his  father,  had 
been  sent  by  the  king  of  Assyria  to  drive  back  the  Medians, 
who  had  invaded  the  kingdom;  but  when  he  met  the  invaders, 
who  had  probably  offered  him  a  kingdom,  if  he  would  come 
over  to  their  side  and  turn  his  arms  against  his  king  and 
country.  He  laid  the  flattering  bait  in  most  glowing  colors 
before  his  officers  and  soldiers,  who,  to  a  man,  agreed  to  follow 
where  he  led;  so  they  deserted  the  Assyrians,  joined  the  Med- 
ians, and  laid  seige  to  the  capital  of  Ninevah  which  fell 
under  their  combined  attack.  The  king  of  Assyria,  with 
his  family,  shut  themselves  up  in  their  palace,  set  it  on  fire, 
and  all  therein  perished.  Nabopolassar  was  rewarded  for  his 
treachery  by  getting  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  for  his  share  of 
the  campaign.  His  son  Nebuchadnezzar  became  king  after 
him,  and  figures  historically  as  the  mightiest  on  record,  as 
his  works  amply  prove.  His  city,  the  second  wonder,  we 
here  explain  that  he  took  the  city  of  Babel  and  enlarged  it 
to  15  miles  square,  a  circumference  of  60  miles,  and  reared  a 
wall  around  this  vast  square  350  feet  high  and  87  feet  thick. 
The  material  of  this  stupendous  wall  was  taken  from  a  deep 
ditch  or  moat,  and  made  into  brick  which  were  baked  in 
large  ovens,  and  hot  bitumen  poured  over  them  to  cement 
them  together  and  to  strengthen  the  wall.  At  every  thirtieth 
course  a  layer  of  reeds  was  laid  on  and  cemented;  the  sides  of 
the  ditch  were  lined  with  brick,  when  it  was  filled  with  water 


50  '  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

rendering  it  inaccessible  to  an  enemy.  In  the  walls  were  25 
brass  gates  on  each  of  its  four  sides,  at  the  ends  of  the  25 
streets  that  crossed  the  city.  These  brass  gates  were  lowered 
and  raised  by  grooves  on  the  inside  of  the  walls,  so  that  they 
could  not  be  reached  by  battering-rams.  The  river  ran  on 
the  outside  of  the  city,  but  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  beautify  the 
city  and  give  it  a  plentiful  supply  of  water,  cut  a  channel 
through  it  15  miles  in  length,  and  turned  the  Euphrates 
down  through  it.  The  wall  spanned  the  river  by  an  immense 
arch,  and  on  the  inside  thereof  a  huge  brass  gate  was  placed 
to  prevent  persons  from  entering  by  means  of  the  river;  and  at 
both  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the  river  to  the  city  the  brass 
gates  were  placed. 

Now,  the  king  having  besieged  many  cities,  knew  that  the 
river  was  a  weak  point,  so  he  endeavored  to  strengthen  it  by 
these  gates;  but  after  they  were  in  position  he  was  not  satis- 
fied, so,  for  safety,  he  set  men  to  make  a  high  wall  along  the 
river,  and  at  the  ends  of  the  25  streets  that  came  down  to  the 
river.  On  each  side  he  placed  brass  gates  in  the  wall.  At 
night  fall  the  law  of  Babylon  required  the  close  of  these  gates 
as  well  as  the  ones  on  the  outer  or  great  wall.  The  channel 
through  the  city  was  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  paved  with 
flag  rock.  Steps  of  cut  stone  were  placed  at  the  ends  of  the 
streets  that  came  down  to  the  river.  On  the  top  of  the 
outside  wall  six  horsemen  could  ride  abreast  the  entire 
60  miles.  Between  every  two  gates  on  the  wall,  forts  10  feet  high 
were  built  for  the  shelter  of  the  guards.  There  were  626 
blocks  in  this  great  city.  The  streets  were  all  wide,  and  on 
each  side  shade  trees  were  planted  to  beautify  and  make  a 
delightful  shade.  Herodotus  visited  Babylon  in  the  year  455 
B.  C.,  five  years  after  he  had  visited  the  pyramids,  and  in  his 
narrative  concerning  the  great  city  says  that  the  temple  of 
Belos  was  walled  in  by  gates  of  brass,  making  a  stronghold 
in  case  of  siege,  and  as  the  royal  treasures  were  deposited 
there,  a  constant  guard  was  necessary;  and  that  the  reason 
of  this  repository  being  selected,  was  probably  on  account  of 
its  sacredness:  none,  unless  an  actual  brigand,  would  touch 


THK  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMKS.  51 

anything  in  the  temple,  lest  he  might  incur  the  anger  of  the 
gods.  The  sacred  enclosure  was  two  stada  in  length  on  each 
side,  making  a  perfect  square,  and  the  massive  building  was 
600  feet  high,  composed  of  8  stories  of  75  feet  each  from 
ceiling  to  floor.  The  top  story  was  fitted  up  most  magnifi- 
cently, with  a  golden  bedstead,  table  and  chairs,  with  hang- 
ings and  furnishings  that  far  excelled  those  of  the  king's 
palace,  as  this  was  supposed  to  be  the  home  of  the  god,  Bel, 
who  on  coming  from  heaven  to  attend  to  his  interests  on 
this  planet,  was  supposed  to  have  a  fitting  palace  for  a  god 
above  the  turmoil  of  the  busy  city.  Bel  was  the  god  of 
heaven  and  earth:  he  was  Nimrod  deified,  and  was  wor- 
shiped by  all  the  eastern  countries,  in  Canaan  as  Baal,  in 
Greece  as  Jupiter,  in  Babylon  as  Bel. 

The  temple  of  Belos  in  Babylon  was  so  huge  a  building 
that  Strabo,  an  eminent  historian,  considered  it  almost 
equal  to  the  great  pyramid.  He  states  that  it  was  half  a 
mile  around  at  the  base,  but  was  not  built  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, but  many  years  before  his  time,  and  was  merely 
enclosed  with  the  walls  and  brass  gates  set  in  their  place  by 
this  king.  Herodotus  says  the  ascent  was  made  by  means 
of  a  winding  roadway  commencing  at  the  base,  and,  by  a 
gradual  ascent  wound  its  way  to  the  top.  He  also  states 
that  it  never  was  finished,  but  after  reaching  a  height  of  600 
feet  was  abandoned,  proving  the  building  to  be  the  notorious 
tower  of  Babel.  On  the  top  was  the  celebrated  observatory 
of  the  Babylonish  astronomers,  who,  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham were  noted  for  their  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
for  when  Alexander  took  Babylon,  Calisthenes,  the  philoso- 
pher, who  accompanied  him,  found  they  had  made  astronomi- 
cal observations  for  1903  years  backward,  which  would  carry 
the  account  up  to  215  years  after  the  flood.  This  is  proved 
by  the  Grecian  account,  which  was  sent  by  Calisthenes  from 
Babylon  to  Aristotle,  and  is  handed  down  to  us  by  the 
authority  of  Prophyry.  In  the  different  rooms  of  the  temple 
(except  the  upper  one)  there  were  massive  images  of  gold 
and  silver,  valued  by  Herodotus  at  about  5000  talents,  which, 


52  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

in  our  currency,  would  make  nearly  $120,000,000.  Diador- 
ous  Siculus  mentions  one  of  gold,  40  feet  high,  that  was 
worshiped  in  this  temple,  which  was  brobably  the  one  Nebu- 
chadnezzar set  up  on  the  plains  of  Dura.  This  image,  in 
scripture,  is  called  60  cubits  high;  but  this  must  be  under- 
stood as  the  image  and  pedestal,  as  none  of  the  ancient 
historians  record  such  an  image.  Diadorus  states  that  it 
contained  1000  Babylonish  talents  in  gold,  but  if  it  had 
been  as  high  as  the  Bible  narrative  states,  without  the  ped- 
estal, it  would  have  cost  nearly  three  times  as  much.  The 
temple  with  its  immense  treasure  was  despoiled  by  Xerxes 
who  carried  away  its  images  and  treasures,  the  accumulation 
of  a  thousand  years. 

The  palace  was  next  in  order  of  wonder  which  was 
exactly  on  the  opposite  side  of  tho  old  one,  and  was,  with 
the  residences  of  the  nobles,  8  miles  in  circumference,  and 
guarded  by  three  walls  inside  of  each  other,  with  a  moat 
between  each,  and  secured  by  solid  brass  gates.  But  the 
most  wonderful  of  all  his  works  were  the  hanging  gardens, 
made  to  please  his  queen,  who  being  a  native  of  Media, 
longed  for  her  native  forests  and  green  fields,  and  it  was  to 
wean  her  from  that  notion  that  the  gardens  were  made. 
They  contained  a  square  of  4000  feet,  and  by  terraces  were 
carried  up  one  above  another  to  the  height  of  the  city  walls. 
Immense  arches  sustained  the  terraces,  and  steps  from  them 
ten  feet  wide,  so  that  a  person  would  not  get  weary  in  the 
ascent,  and  the  whole  garden  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  22 
feet  thick.  The  floors  of  the  terraces  were  cemented  and 
leaded,  to  prevent  moisture  from  escaping.  Here  the  giants 
of  the  forest  were  transplanted — the  oak  the  larch,  and  the 
elegant  mimosa,  and  the  silk  tasseled  acacia;  indeed,  every 
fruit  and  flower  known  to  the  Orient,  grew  luxuriantly  in  this 
paradise.  On  the  ascent  or  broad  steps,  flowers  and  beauti- 
ful trees  shaded  the  pathway  on  either  side;  making  as  Hero- 
dotus describes  "a  paradise  on  earth,  the  most  delightful  spot 
in  all  the  world."  From  the  top  a  lovely  view  of  the  city 
and  the  winding  Euphrates  could  be  seen,  and  as  far  as  the 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  53 

could  reach,  the  vast  plain  of  Shinar,  with  its  great 
canals  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  made  to  carry  of  the 
surplus  water  of  the  river  in  high  water  time  was  visible. 
He  made  a  reservoir,  probably  the  largest  in  the  world;  its 
circumference  was  40  miles  and  so  deep  that  pleasure  boats 
sailed  on  its  ample  bosom.  This  also,  was  a  great  source  of 
wealth,  for  in  the  dry  time  of  Summer,  the  water  was  drawn 
off  to  irrigate  the  parched  land  and  made  abundant  harvests. 
Cyrus,  no  doubt,  was  more  persistent  in  pushing  the  siege 
of  Babylon  that  he  might  view  its  wonders  and,  especially 
its  remarkable  gardens  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond; 
for  wherever  he  went  he  caused  beautiful  gardens  to  be 
planted.  Of  him  Xenophon  writes  that  his  first  care  after 
subduing  a  city  was  to  plant  gardens,  and  Plutarch  in  his 
"Lives  of  Great  men"  says  that  Lysander,  the  Spartan  gener- 
al, praised  the  gardens  of  Cyrus.  In  ancient  times  gardens 
were  thought  to  be  superior  to  any  luxury,  and  kings  and 
queens  were  their  patrons. 

Thus  after  explaining  somewhat  of  the  .wonders  of  Baby- 
lon, its  wall,  temple  and  palace,  hanging  gardens,  and  river, 
all  of  which  were  completed  in  the  reign  of  King  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, who  was  rightly  designated  the  "head  of  gold", 
for  no  king  ever  left  behind  him  such  marvellous  works; 
his  son  Belshazzar  succeeded  him  and  in  his  reign  the  king- 
dom ended.  The  prophet  had  already  predicted  its  fall. 
"Babylon,  the  glory  of  the  Chaldees  shall  be  as  when  God 
overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  It  shall  never  be  inhabi- 
ted neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. The  Arabian  shall  not  pitch  tent  thereon,  nor  the 
shepherd  make  fold  there,  but  the  wild  beasts  of  the  desert 
shall-be  there,  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful  creatures, 
and  owls  shall  dwell  there."  (Isaiah  xiii).  All  of  this  pro- 
phecy has  been  literally  fulfilled;  its  downfall  commenced 
in  the  reign  of  Belshazzar  by  Cyrus  the  Persian  king,  whom 
the  Lord  raised  up  for  this  express  work.  He  laid  siege  to 
the  city  and  spent  months  in  vain  attempts  to  break  down 
the  wall,  but,  after  repeated  attempts,  finding  it  invulnera- 


54  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

ble,  being  87  feet  thick  the  battering-rams  could  not  pene- 
trate such  immense  thickness,  he  had  to  resort  to  other 
means.  To  attempt  to  scale  the  walls  was  impossible;  350  feet 
in  height  could  not  be  reached  with  scaling  ladders;  in. 
the  face  of  a  vigilent  army.  Two  vast  canals  were  cut  around 
the  city  and  when  the  troops  of  Cyrus  informed  them  that  their 
object  was  to  rear  a  high  bank  to  enable  them  to  reach  the 
top  of  the  wall,  the  Babylonians  laughed  them  to  scorn.  The 
Babylonians  had  always  considered  the  Euphrates  their 
greatest  security,  with  its  huge  walls  spanning  the  river  by 
a  mighty  arch,  the  mammoth  brass  gates  shutting  everything 
out,  and  the  same  protection  at  the  lower  end  of  the  city 
at  the  exit  of  the  river,  they  never  thought  of  danger  in 
this  direction;  but  Cyrus,  the  servant  of  the  Most  High,  although 
he  did  not  know  it  was  inspired  to  make  the  river  the 
means  of  destruction,  was  over  a  year, in  making  the  two 
canals,  and  on  the  night  of  the  festival  of  Bel,  Cyrus  had 
completed  his  arrangements  for  entrance.  He  placed  his 
men  so  that  as  the  sun  went  down  they  cut  the  sluice-ways 
from  the  river  to  the  canals  and  dammed  it  above  the 
city.  In  a  short  time  the  troops  were  walking  under  the 
brass  gates,  and  the  dry  bed  of  the  river  made  a  level  road 
for  them;  for  the  bottom  of  the  Euphrates  is  quicksand,  and 
when  the  water  is  removed,  it  becomes  hard.  The  guards  of 
the  city,  partaking  of  the  wine  that  is  freely  distributed  on 
such  occasions,  were  speedily  slain,  and  Cyrus  distributing 
his  men  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  even  the  temple  of  Belus, 
and  the  hanging  gardens  became  scenes  of  carnage. 

While  this  was  going  on  a  remarkable  scene  was  transpir- 
ing in  the  palace.  Belshazzar  had  made  a  feast  for  his  nobles 
on  this  great  holiday,  a  thousand  of  whom  were  entertained 
at  this  royal  banquet,  here  he  committed  an  act  which  God 
could  not  overlook,  a  sacrilegious  act  of  which  even  his  father 
Nebuchadnezzar  never  dreamed,  that  of  drinking  wine  from 
the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple,  which  Solomon  had  made 
and  dedicated  for  its  use.  Belshazzar  sent  for  them  to  the 
temple  of  Belus  where  Nebuchadnezzar  had  placed  them. 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


55 


After  destroying  Jerusalem  and  making  captives  of  the  Jews 
he    destroyed  the  temple  and  its  treasures,  carried  them  to 


Babylon,  and  placed  them  in  the  temple  of  Belus,  where  they 
remained  during  his  life  and  were  not  disturbed  until  the 


56  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

feast,  when  they  drank  wine  from  the  sacred  vessels  and  praised 
the  gods  of  gold  and  silver,  of  wood  and  stone;  but  in  that 
hour  came  forth  fingers  of  a  man's  hand  and  wrote  over  the 
candlestick  Mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharsin.  The  king  was  appalled 
by  this  apparition,  the  joints  of  his  loins  were  loosened,  and 
his  knees  smote  together.  He  called  for  the  wise  men,  and 
astrologers  to  read  the  writing,  but  they  could  not.  The 
queen  thought  of  Daniel  who  was  brought  in  and,  as  is  well 
known,  predicted,  in  the  interpretation,  the  capture  of  the 
kingdom  that  very  night.  How  short  a  period  for  so  absolute 
a  monarch,  how  dreadful  to  tamper  with  Jehovah!  The  fate 
of  an  empire  hangs  upon  the  fact  of  an  invasion  of  the  holy 
places  and  an  unhallowed  use  of  the  sacred  vessels.  The 
scene  has  changed,  the  cup  of  trembling  is  substituted  for  the 
wine-cup.  How  dreadful  to  invade  the  domain  of  God's  holy 
places.  The  guards  whose  duty  it  was  to  lock  the  gates  at 
evening  were  drunk.  God  had  said  that  Cyrus  should  break 
down  the  gates  of  brass  and  enter.  Who  shall  prevent  it?  Not 
Belshazzar,  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  sword.  His  men  fell  around 
him  like  hail.  Babylon  is  taken.  Darius,  the  Median  king, 
an  alley  of  Cyrus,  took  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  When  the 
water  was  withdrawn  they  filed  right  and  left  and  in  ONE 
HOUR  Babylon  was  taken. 

Cyrus,  on  becoming  the  sovereign  of  Babylon,  was  kind 
to  the  Jews  and  aided  them  to  return  to  their  own  country  and 
to  build  their  temple,  which  they  did  515  B.  C.  He  was  a 
good  king  and  exercised  •  sovereignty,  peaceably,  until  his 
death.  In  a  good  old  age  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Cam- 
byses  who  also  had  a  peaceable  reign.  He  was  succeeded  by 
a  Persian  monarch  named  Darius  Hystaspas,  when  the  line  of 
Cyrus  became  extinct.  Alexander  the  Great  in  the  great  bat- 
tle of  Arebella,  beat  Darius  and  the  last  great  battle  of  the 
Persians  was  fought.  He  moved  the  seat  of  his  empire  from 
Media  to  Babylon,  the  beauties  of  that  place  enchanting  him, 
and  tried  to  rebuild  the  walls,  that  had  partly  been  thrown 
down  in  the  seige,  but  he  did  not  know  or  care  for  what  the 
prophet  of  God  had  said,  She  shall  become  a  desolate  waste; 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  57 

doleful  creatures  shall  dwell  in  her  palaces,  and  he  who 
attempts  to  rebuild  it  shall  do  so  in  the  death  of  his  firstborn, 
which  befell  Alexander;  yet  was.  he  determined  to  prosecute 
the  work.  The  Lord  removed  him  and  he  died  at  the  age  of 
33.  The  city  gradually  sank  to  decay,  and  became  literally  a 
"doleful  place"  for  the  satyr,  owl  and  venomous  reptile  dwelt 
there.  No  man  could  pitch  tent  there.  Even  the  Arab  who  was 
wont  to  pass  the  night  here  dare  do  so  no  more.  Thus  was 
God's  word  fulfilled  upon  it.  Babylon  is  to  fall  again  accord- 
ing to  the  Revelator  John,  in  the  "last  days."  He  could  not 
refer  to  the  ancient  city,  but  to  its  emblem  in  the  world,  the 
wicked  which  we  will  explain  in  our  chapter  on  the  last  judg- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

% 

JUPITER  OLYMPUS,  THE  THIRD    WONDER. 


IMAGE  worship  is  stated  by  Bancroft,  in  his  "Footprints 
of  Time"  as  commencing  in  the  worship  of  nature.  On  page 
44  he  writes  that  "the  religious  nature  was  first  awakened  by 
the  mysteries  of  growth,  the  power  of  wind-storms  and  waters, 
the  calm  beauty  and  brilliancy  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars, 
riding  undisturbed  in  the  heavens,  impressed  in  man  a  sense 
of  something  superior  to  himself,  and  his  sense  of  weakness 
and  dependence  led  him  to  propitiate  these  unknown  powers 
to  aid  him."  The  head  of  the  family  was  naturally  looked  up 
to  as  a  priest  or  head  that  all  revered,  and,  after  his  death  it 
was  supposed  that  he  was  taken  to  some  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
They  thus  worshiped  the  hosts  of  heaven,  the  scriptural  writ- 
ers said,  and  it  was  to  call  the  attention  of  the  head  to  a  cer- 
tain star  such  as  Jupiter,  which  was  supposed  to  contain  Nim- 


58  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

rod,  the  mighty  hunter,  that  they  supplicated  the  persons  who 
lived  in  certain  stars,  but  as  the  stars  would  be  hid  from  their 
view  part  of  the  time,  they  made  images  of  their  deities,  and 
worshiped  the  representation  until  the  star  returned,  and 
finally  they  lost  the  worship  of  the  stars  in  the  worship  of  the 
representative  or  image.  Nimrod  was  deified,  after  his  death, 
and  was  supposed  to  have  taken  his  abode  in  the  star  Jupiter, 
and  was  invariably  worshiped  by  the  sons  of  men,  who  were 
under  him  at  the  building  of  the  great  tower.  Some  called 
him  Bel,  others  Baal,  and  the  Grecians,  Jupiter,  the  great  head 
or  god  of  gods,  and  many  minor  images  were  made  to  gratify 
various  cities  who  held  the  worship  of  Jupiter  as  most  sacred; 
but  it  was  left  for  Elis,  a  city  of  Greece,  situated  near  Olympia, 
to  carry  off  the  palm  of  victory  in  its  worship  of  Jupiter. 

In  the  year  490  B.  C.,  a  child  was  born  at  Athens,  who 
was  destined  to  become  the  greatest  sculptor  the  world  ever 
saw.  From  his  youth  he  showed  great  genius,  and  many  of 
his  works  are  still  extant,  one  image,  especially,  of  the  god- 
dess, Diana,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  and  allowed  by  mod- 
ern critics  to  be  nearly  perfection.  "  He  was  commissioned  by 
the  Athenians  to  make  them  an  image  of  the  goddess,  Miner- 
va, and  everything  needed  was  furnished  by  the  city — gold, 
silver,  ivory,  precious  stones,  etc.  He  made  it  so  beautiful  and 
life-like  that  it  was  pronounced  the  goddess  herself,  and  the 
sculptor  was  almost  deified,  but  he  had  rivals  who  circulated 
a  story  that  Phidias,  the  sculptor,  had  stolen  part  of  the  ivory 
and  gold  entrusted  to  his  care  for  rearing  the  image,  and  the 
story  gained  ground.  The  enemies  of  Phidias  worked  faith- 
fully for  his  destruction;  theft,  in  those  days,  being  a  death 
punishment.  The  rivals  bribed  false  witnesses  who  swore 
that  they  saw  him  carry  off  gold,  ivory,  and  precious  stones; 
he  could  not  disprove  it,  and  therefore  fled  the  country  to  save 
his  life,  settling  in  a  city  of  the  Spartans  near  where  the 
Olympic  games  were  held,  a  principality  not  governed  by  the 
Athenians.  When  the  Elians  found  they  had  the  great  sculp- 
tor in  their  midst,  they  commissioned  him  to  make  a  statue  of 
Jupiter  Olympus,  for  them,  and  he  to  avenge  himself  on  the 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TI31KS.  59 

Athenians  for  their  lack  of  confidence,  and  their  willingness 
to  credit  false  rumors  determined  to  make  this  image  so  vastly 
superior  to  Minerva  that  she  would  not  be  accounted  a  wonder, 
and  therefore  set  to  work  on  the  celebrated  idol.  Minerva  was 
only  39  feet  high;  he  made  Jupiter  55  feet  high.  He  placed 
him  upon  a  throne  covered  with  ivory  and  gold  and  precious 
stones.  A  celebrated  writer,  Pausanias  states,  "He  sits  majes- 
tic and  appears  endued  with  life,"  and,  although  the  temple 
was  60  feet  high  to  the  ceiling,  it  would  appear  that  if  Jupiter 
were  to  arise  from  his  throne  and  stand  erect  he  would  lift  the 
roof  from  the  temple.  His  head  was  covered  by  an  olive 
branch  to  denote  peace  to  the  faithful;  in  his  right  hand  he 
held  an  image  of  the  goddess  of  victory.  This  image  was  18 
feet  high,  of  gold,  ivory  and  precious  stones;  its  wings  were 
bespangled  with  precious  stones,  mostly  rubies  and  pearls;  in 
his  left  hand  he  held  the  sceptre  as  king  of  kings.  This  scep- 
tre was  also  of  gold,  and  surmounted  by  a  golden  eagle  to 
show  that  the  fowls  of  the  air  were  the  messengers  of  Jupiter; 
at  his  feet  were  full  grown  lions,  of  solid  gold,  to  denote  that 
the  animal  kingdom  was  subservient  to  their  god,  they  being 
represented  by  their  king,  the  lion.  The  sides,  back  and 
top  of  the  throne,  were  supported  by  gods  of  gold  to  denote 
that  the  throne  of  Jupiter  was  supported  by  the  aid  of  the  lesser 
gods,  of  the  statue  of  full-grown  mortals.  These  were  lavish- 
ed in  profusion  around  the  throne  and  were  of  solid  gold. 
His  robe  was  elaborated  with  figures  of  lilies,  animals  and 
birds;  his  sandals  were  wrought  in  festoons  of  flowers,  the 
dew-drops  being  pearls. 

The  great  throne  was  as  much  a  marvel  of  workmanship 
as  the  image  itself;  it  was  made  of  ivor}-  and  gold  and  the 
pedestal  was  pure  pentelic  marble;  its  four  sides  were  elabor- 
ately wrought  in  figures  of  the  victories  of  the  gods,  who  were 
the  subjects  of  Jupiter  and  under  his  especial  care.  Thus 
Phidias  labored  most  assidously  for  the  Elians  and  immortal- 
ized himself  forever,  the  critics  of  every  age  accredit  him  as 
being  the  master  of  sculpture.  Phidias,  says  tradition,  wish- 
ing to  know  whether  his  work  was  accepted  by  the  gods  or 


60  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

not,  evoked  them  to  manifest  it  by  some  sign,  and  no  sooner 
was  the  request  made  than  it  was  answered  by  a  bolt  of  light- 
ning striking  the  marble  pavement  in  front  of  the  image,  do- 
ing no  damage.  A  beautiful  vase  was  placed  there  to  mark 
the  spot  forever. 

The  temple  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  god;  its  di- 
mensions being  350  feet  in  length,  200  feet  wide,  and  60  feet 
high  on  the  inside;  eighty  feet  outside  the  dome,  and  was  sus- 
tained by  220  columns  of  fine  white  marble,  each  a  solid 
piece  60  feet  high.  They  were  fluted  most  elaborately,  and  so- 
deeply  that  a  man  could  stand  inside  of  one,  and  be  hidden 
from  view.  This  part  of  the  history  is  amply  proved,  for,  to 
this  day,  17  of  those  grand  columns  remain  standing  in  the 
ruins  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter,  and  three  of  the  immense  rocks, 
spanning  from  column  to  column,  are  still  in  their  place  on 
the  top.  In  this  century  an  old  hermit  made  his  home  there, 
but  being  missed  a  search  was  made,  and  his  body  was  found 
on  top  of  the  columns  where  he  had  died. 

The  Olympic  games  were  a  national  series  of  athletic 
sports,  open  to  all  competitors  who  were  riot  under  bane. 
They  were  celebrated  at  a  city  called  Olympia,  close  to  Elis. 
There  was  an  oracle  of  Jupiter  at  Olympia,  and,  tradition 
states  that  Hercules  came  there  in  person  and  established  the 
games,  in  honor  of  Jupiter,  after  a  great  victory  1222  years 
B.  C.  They  were  to  be  celebrated  every  59  years.  The  care 
of  the  games  was  given  to  the  Elians,  and  by  these  national 
festivities  we  get  accurate  dates  for  history,  as  the  winners 
were  recorded  in  a  great  book  and  their  names  immortalized 
in  song;  and  even  kings  did  not  think  it  beneath  them  to  con- 
tend for  the  championship.  Every  person  tried  to  visit  the 
temple  as  many  times  as  possible,  as  it  was  considered  a  calam- 
ity to  not  have  visited  it  and  worshiped  the  god,  at  least,  once 
in  a  life,  and  not  to  have  their  names  recorded  in  the  temple 
book.  The  Olympic,  citizens  of  Elis  became  very  wealthy,  as 
crowds  wended  their  way  to  and  from  the  temple  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year;  but,  there  is  an  end  to  all  mortal  things,  and  the 
great  Jupiter,  with  its  magnificent  temple,  had  to  yield  to  the 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  61 

inevitable.  The  Greeks  and  Persians  were  rivals,  the  latter 
jealous  of  their  growing  renown,  invaded  their  country  and 
tried  to  subdue  it,  but  were  repulsed  again  and  again,  but 
still  persisted  until  Xerxes,  with  a  million  of  men,  beaten  and 
retreating,  finally  lays  waste  all  he  finds  and  plunders  all 
worthy  thereof;  among  the  rest  the  temple  of  Jupiter  falls 
under  his  scourge.  He  pillaged  the  temple  of  its  immense 
treasure  and  caused  the  image,  with  its  attendant  gods  to  be 
taken  down  and  melted  into  bars  convenient  for  transporta- 
tion, and  then  carried  them  to  Persia.  The  treasures  of  this 
temple  alone  made  him  very  rich. 

These  were  the  times  of  greatest  glory  for  Greece.  Hon- 
or and  liberty  were  regarded  of  more  value  than  life,  and 
it,  although  a  small  kingdom,  was  so  united,  that  with  an 
army  of  only  10,000  men  beat  Darius  on  a  fair  battle-ground 
with  300,000  on  the  famed  field  of  Marathon.  The  valor  of 
the  Greeks  lay  in  their  unity  and  bravery,  for,  when  once 
engaged,  they  never  turned  to  the  foe.  Death  was  preferable 
to  that.  At  the  time  of  the  famed  destruction  of  the  temple 
of  Jupiter,  the  Greeks,  with  a  small  army  drove  Xerxes, 
with  two  millions  before  them,  and  he  could  not  have  entered 
Athens  but  for  the  treachery  of  a  malcontent  who  showed 
him  a  hidden  passage  between  the  mountains  but  the  Greeks 
were  not  yet  discouraged,  but  united  more  closely,  and  the 
result  was  the  destruction  of  the  Persian  fleet  at  Salamis, 
which  compelled  Xerxes  to  abandon  200,000  of  his  men,  and 
compelled  his  retreat  to  his  own  country  with  his  great 
spoils,  but  the  200,000  left,  the  Greeks  cut  into  pieces  at 
the  battle  of  Platea,  they  having  only  40,000  .men.  After 
these  great  victories  by  the  Greeks,  the  Olympic  games 
were  revived,  and  from  being  celebrated  every  59  years 
were  celebrated  every  fifth  year.  The  games  consisted  of  char- 
iot races,  boxing,  running,  leaping,  throwing  the  hammer  and 
pitching  quoits.  No  criminal  was  allowed  to  compete  with  the 
wrestlers,  and  competitors  were  chosen  by  lot.  The  eques- 
trian competitors  were  mostly  of  the  higher  caste,  as  they 
had  to  furnish  horses,  chariots,  etc.,  at  their  own  expense. 


62  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

Those  competing  for  prizes  had  to  eater  their  names  ten 
months  before  the  festival  and  to  name  the  prize  they  would 
compete  for,  and  on  the  day  of  the  festival  their  names 
were  proclaimed  from  the  Stadium.  They  were  then  led 
to  the  throne  of  Jupiter  and  there  they  swore  before  the 
great  god  that  they  would  not  be  guilty  of  any  under-handed 
measure  or  hinder  the  fair  course  of  the  games.  At  first 
the  prizes  were  very  valuable,  but  they  finally  became  mere- 
ly honorary,  such  as  a  garland  of  white  olives  cutfcfrom  the 
grove-  of  Olympia;  but  great  triumphs  awaited  the  victors 
in  their  native  city.  There  they  were  seized  and  carried 
through  a  breach  made  in  the  wall  of  the  city,  on  purpose 
for  this  mark  of  their  approval;  and  a  great  feast  was  made 
to  honor  them,  and  poets  composed  songs  in  their  praise,  and 
they  were  exhibited  in  their  processions.  These  games  were 
found  beneficial  in  holding  surrounding  nations  in  friendly 
relations,  for  all  were  eligible  to  the  Olympic  games,  and  all 
were  anxious  as  to  the  result.  There  was  no  betting — noth- 
ing but  the  victor's  prizes  are  recorded  in  history.  This  was 
the  acme  of  ambition.  Pindar,  the  Grecian  poet,  entered 
the  lists  and  competed  for  a  prize  in  an  ode  in  which  he  in- 
vokes Jupiter  to  aid  him.  The  ode  runs  in  one  stanza,  thus: 

Thy  circling  hours  immortal  Jove 
Who  makes  the  unvaried  lightning  move 
With  songs  and  lyres  ascendant  string, 
Rouse  me  the  victor's  praise  to  sing. 
When  friends  succeed  the  good  rejoice, 
And  hail  the  sweet-tuned  Herald's  voice. 

Greece  has  an  immortal  record.  She  has  given  the  world 
the  greatest  warriors,  the  greatest  poets,  philosophers  and  law- 
givers, the  greatest  gods  and  temples,  and  her  ruins  vie  with 
those  of  the  Egyptians.  To  her  we  are  indebted  for  much  art 
and  science.  Our  alphabet  was  copied  by  Greeks  from  the 
Egyptians  and  afterwards  improved.  They  invented  most  of 
the  arithmetical  figures  in  use.  We  have  the  Grecian  mythol- 
ogy; their  marks  in  literature  are  found  in  all  the  world  and 
their  festival  styles  are  somewhat  still  in  existence,  such  as 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  03 

May-day,  the  festival  of  the  harvest  home,  but  now  we  need 
not  mythology  to  enlighten  us,  the  more  sure  word  of  proph- 
esy is  our  guiding  star  to  the  mansions  of  eternal  bliss. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TEMPLE  OF  DIANA,  FOURTH  WONDER. 


EPHESUS  was  situated  38  miles  from  Smyrna,  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  was  anciently  one  of  the  most  splendid  cities,  and 
in  the  time  of  John  the  Revelator,  the  seat  of  one  of  the  seven 
churches  of  Asia.  Strabo  calls  it  "the  best  and  most  glorious 
city,"  another  writer  calls  it  the  "Eye  of  Asia."  It  was  situated 
on  a  rolling  table-land,  with  a  round  hill,  in  the  center,  called 
Mars  Hill,  and  a  splendid  public  building  erected  upon  it. 
On  the  steps  of  this  building,  Paul  the  Apostle,  preached  the 
gospel.  The  people  listened  with  rapt  attention;  but  while 
he  was  unfolding  the  plan  of  salvation,  a  tumult  caused  by  a 
mob's  taking  Aristarchus  and  Gaius,  ensued.  The  mob, 
headed  by  Demetrius  and  other  silversmiths,  (whose  craft  was 
sustained  by  making  images  of  the  temple  and  the  goddess,  Di- 
ana), pushed  them  into  the  theatre,  and  there,  for  two  hours,  a 
tumult,  so  great,  was  kept  up,  that  Paul  could  not  be  heard,  their 
cry  being  "'Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians."  This  cry  was 
raised  by  these  smiths,  who,  knowing,  that  if  Paul's  doctrine 
succeeded,  their  craft  was  ruined.  The  religion  of  Paul  was 
offered  them  without  price.  Paul,  however,  was  not  dis- 
couraged by  this  first  reception  at  Ephesus,  but  worked  dili- 
gently, soon  establishing  a  church  there,  which  became  one  of 
the  greatest  of  the  early  churches  of  Asia;  but  was  afterwards 
hreatened  by  the  Revelator  John  (Rev.  ii.)  with  "The  removal 


64 


THE  SIONS  OF  THE  TIMES, 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  05 

of  its  candlestick"  if  they  did  not  return  to  iheir  "first  love." 
(For  the  history  of  Paul's  mission  to  Ephesus  see  Acts  xix).  Diana 
was  reputed  to  be  the  daughter  of  Jupiter,  and  was  sent,  tradi- 
tion states,  to  the  earth  by  her  father  to  rule  and  govern  it  (the 
absurdity  originated  with  a  man  named  Cananatus,  who 
brought  the  image  to  Ephesus  and  told  this  story). 

"I  was  working  in  my  field  one  day,  and  saw 
this  image  descend  from  heaven  and  alight  therein;  it  ad- 
vanced towards  me  and  calling  me  by  name  said,  'I  am  the 
daughter  of  Jupiter  and  am  sent  to  rule  over  the  earth  during 
my  father's  absence  and  you  must  take  me  to  Ephesus/  at  the 
same  time  pointing  with  her  hand  towards  me,  'and  tell  them 
what  I  have  told  you,  and  that  it  is  the  express  command  of 
Jupiter  that  they  build  me  a  temple  to  dwell  in,  failing  to  do 
so  they  would  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  god  of  heaven  and 
earth.' ); 

Cananatus  took  the  image,  which  he  had  made  out  of  a 
block  of  black  ebony,  to  Ephesus  and  told  his  story;  and,  won- 
derful to  relate,  it  was  believed,  and  he  was  rewarded  hand- 
somely as  the  messenger  of  Jupiter  and  the  patron  of  Diana. 
The  Ephesians,  then  built  a  temple  of  wood  which  perished 
by  fire;  another  of  wood  shared  the  same  fate;  a  third,  made 
of  the  same  material,  on  the  night  of  the  birth  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  also  perished  by  fire.  The  image  was  every  time 
saved  by  the  Ephesians  rushing  in  and  carrying  her  out  bodily. 
By  this  time  they  were  tired  of  building  'temples,  but  finally 
at  a  great  conference,  concluded  to  build  one  that  would  not 
burn,  and,  that  all  the  world  could  be  pleased  to  contribute  to- 
wards the  erection.  This  proclaimed,  Alexander,  who  was 
then  climbing  the  ladder  of  fame,  proposed  to  build  it,  if  he 
could  be  allowed  the  front  part  of  the  building  in  which  to 
place  his  victories  in  sculpture.  The  generous  offer  was  re- 
spectfully declined,  as  they  preferred  to  have  all  the  space  for 
sculpture  appropriated  to  the  wars  of  the  gods  and  their  vic- 
tories, so  they  went  to  work.  The  first  wooden  temple  was 
built  on  Mars  Hill,  in  the  reign  of  Servius  Tullius  570  B.  C., 
the  second  in  the  year  540  B.  C.,  which  was  finished  on  the 
day  the  philosopher  Socrates  was  poisoned.  The  third  was 


66  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

destroyed,  as  we  stated  above,  on  the  night  of  Alexander's 
birth.  Ephesus  has  been,  from  time  immemorial,  subject  to 
shocks  of  earthquake,  therefore  the  commissioners  of  the  build- 
ing concluded  to  move  its  site  from  Mars  Hill  to  a  low  spot  of 
land  between  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  the  city;  it  was  a 
low,  marshy  spot,  but  they  determined  to  drain  it.  Here, 
they  supposed,  earthquakes  would  not  be  so  severe,  and  the 
building  would  escape  cracking.  The  temple  was  built  of 
marble,  not  an  atom  of  anything  combustible  being  allowed  in 
its  construction.  The  foundation  was  laid  after  the  marsh 
had  been  drained  by  vast  sewers,  eight  feet  wide,  and  16 
feet  deep;  at  the  bottom  charcoal  was  rammed  solid,  18  inches 
of  wool  were  laid  over  it,  then  the  foundation  rock.  It  was 
thought  charcoal  and  wool,  being  imperishable,  would  make  it 
last  forever.  The  building  was  made  of  pure  white  marble? 
and  was  425  feet  long,  220  wide,  and  88  feet  high;  it  had  127 
columns  of  marble  to  sustain  the  roof,  each  60  feet  high  and 
eight  feet  eight  inches  thick;  each  was  a  solid  piece  of  marble 
and  was  the  gift  of  a  prince  or  king,  who  had  merely  the  privi- 
lege to  place  his  name  and  country  on  the  square  chapter  of  the 
top  of  the  columns;  36  of  them  were  richly  carved  and  placed  in 
the  front  part  of  the  building;  a  marble  pavement  surrounded 
the  entire  building  and  three  polished  marble  steps  extended 
around  the  temple.  In  the  parapet  the  lesser  gods,  composed  of 
pure  pentelic  marble,  were  placed  on  pedestals  to  guard  the  ex- 
terior of  the  temple.  On  the  inside  a  great  throne  was  erected, 
covered  with  gold  and  ivory,  and  the  goddess  seated  thereon. 
Seventeen  gods  of  silver  were  placed  on  pedestals  surrounding 
the  goddess,  whose  duty  it  was  to  protect  the  image. 

Tradition  says  during  the  progess  of  the  building  Chesis- 
phron,  the  architect,  contemplated  suicide,  on  account  of  his 
troubles  in  rearing  the  building,  as  far  as  constructed,  and  had 
sought  a  secluded  place  to  end  his  troubles  by  a  cup  of  poison, 
when  Diana  appeared  to  him  and  encouraged  him  to  live  and 
push  the  work  with  a  promise  of  reward  both  here  and 
hereafter;  and,  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  kept  all  his  plans 
in  sketch  on  the  tressel-board,  but  feeling  the-  hand  of  death 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  67 

upon  him,  he  perfected  the  plan  of  the  building,  which 
aided  afterwards  materially  in  its  completion.  It  cost  the 
Ephesians  220  years'  labor,  and  the  idolatrous  world  contrib- 
uted to  its  erection;  even  the  ladies  gave  the  commissioners 
their  earrings  and  nose-rings  to  aid  in  its  decoration. 

The  rites  of  the  temple  are  worthy  of  note,  one  of  which 
consisted  in  slaying  a  fat  bullock,  without  blemish,  at  the 
festival  of  Diana,  in  her  honor,  the  people  partaking  of  the 
flesh  after  the  rite  ended.  Thus  we  see  here  a  custom  of  the 
Jews  adopted  by  the  heathen;  and  to  such  an  extent  was 
this  festival  engrafted  upon  the  lives  of  the  people  that,  even 
after  the  true  worship  of  Messiah  was  adopted,  the  people 
still  celebrated  the  feast  of  the  fat  buck,  as  we  read  in  the 
history  of  England.  The  city  of  London  had  a  temple  to 
Diana,  and  slew  a  fat  buck  at  the  festival,  when  the  carcass 
was  given  to  the  people,  which  was  done  by  blowing  of  bucks' 
horns  amid  the  cheers  of  the  multitude;  and,  after  Christi- 
anity became  the  religion  the  custom  could  not  be  abolished, 
for  even  at  the  St.  Paul  cathedral,  during  divine  service  on  the 
holiday  of  Diana,  they  introduced  the  fat  buck  with  the 
blowing  of  horns  and  cheers  of  the  people.  It  is  even 
recorded  that  Gregory  Thamaturgas,  a  Christian  bishop, 
instituted  annual  festivals  to  the  saints,  to  wean  the  people 
from  their  heathen  ones,  and  to  put  them  out  of  mind. 
Thus  Christianity  was  inaugurated  as  Christ's  Day  (Christmas) 
as  a  national  holiday,  happening  at  the  time  of  the  festival  of 
Bachanalia  and  Saturnalia.  The  May-day  was  made  to  take 
the  place  of  the  festival  of  Floralia,  the  Goddess  of  Flowers, 
and  the  holidays  to  the  virgin  Mary  and  the  apostles,  to 
supersede  the  solemnities  of  the  ancient  Julian  Calendar. 

Pope  Gregory  in  the  6th  century,  in  a  letter  to  August- 
ine, first  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  says  "Destroy  the  idols, 
but  not  the  temples,  and  cause  the  people,  instead  of  sac- 
rificing oxen  to  the  gods,  to  sacrifice  them  to  the  memory  of 
the  martyrs,  and  to  cleanse  the  temples."  He  says,  "Sprinkle 
them  with  holy  water,  and  have  them,  in  these  parts,  build 
temporary  huts  of  green  boughs,  and  not  permit  them  to 


68  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

enter  the  temple  on  these  days,  that  the  heathen  worship  may 
die  out."  That  the  heathen  derived  their  rites  and  festivals  from 
God's  ancient  people  is  easily  proved;  for  instance,  in  the 
front  of  the  temple  of  Delhi  the  words  THOU  ART  were  en- 
graved in  mystic  letters.  The  Egyptians  inscribed  on  one  of 
their  temples  i  AM,  and  on  one  of  the  temples  of  Mars  Hill 
at  Ephesus,  Paul  saw  the  engraving  TO  THE  UNKNOWN  GODT 
and  in  the  mythology  of  the  gods,  we  read  that  some  names 
of  the  heathen  gods  could  not  be  written.  It  is  recorded  in 
the  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  that  the  Almighty  appeared  to 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  as  Al  Shaddai,  but  my  name 
Jehovah  was  not  known  to  them,  and  that  Moses,  by  hav- 
ing this  great  name  of  God  engraved  on  his  staff,  was  enabled 
to  perform  the  mighty  miracles  that  he  did  before  Pharoah. 
To  prove  that  the  customs  of  ancient  idolators  have  not 
wholly  died  out,  even  in  this  day  of  revealed  religion,  we 
note  the  unlucky  day  of  Friday,  which  was  devoted  to  the 
worship  of  Priga,  an  ancient  god  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that 
being  improperly  propitiated,  the  reverse  being  given,  there- 
fore Friday  became  an  unlucky  day.  To  this  day  the  judges 
choose  black  Friday  on  which  to  execute  criminals.  To  show 
our  connections  with  ancient  customs  and  rites  would  re- 
quire a  volume,  we,  therefore  desist  and  continue  our  narra- 
tive of  the  fourth  wonder. 

The  temple  of  Diana,  it  is  written,  was  destroyed  by  the 
Goths,  but  it  can  easily  be  shown  that  Justinian,  in  the 
6th  century,  laid  seige  to  Ephesus  and  conquered  it,  and 
that  he  entered  the  temple  and  plundered  it;  that  even  Xer- 
xes, the  Persian  king,  when  he  plundered  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  Olympus,  Memon  and  Minerva  did  not  touch  the 
temple  of  Diana,  or  allow  his  troops  to  set  foot  in  the  sacred 
enclosure,  regarding  it  as  too  holy  for  pollution,  but  Jus- 
tinian was  a  Mohammedan  and  cared  not  for  idols,  indeed, 
the  instructions  of  the  Koran  required  their  destruction  and 
that  of  the  idolator.  After  he  had  thrown  down  Diana  on 
the  marble  pavement,  and  had  stripped  the  gold  and  ivory 
from  the  throne  and  appropriated  the  17  gods  of  silver,  he 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  69 

commanded  his  troops  to  destroy  the  marble  images  that 
surrounded  the  temple;  then  looking  upon  the  beautiful 
columns  in  the  front  part  of  the  building,  he  transported 
them  to  Constantinople  and  reared  a  mosque  upon  them,  and 
they  stand  there  now.  Even  the  names  of  the  kings  are 
visible.  They  should  be  seen  by  all  who  visit  Constantinople. 
The  apostle  told  the  church  at  Ephesus  that  if  they  did  not 
return  to  their  first  love  he  would  remove  their  candlestick. 
Have  they  remained  steadfast?  Do  they  exist  now?  No. 
Look  at  what  they  were  in  the  time  of  Paul.  Ephesus  was 
the  "eye  to  Asia,  the  glorious  city,"  now  it  is  a  rude  hamlet; 
a  few  poor  people  till  the  impoverished  soil  of  the  spot  of 
the  once  famous  temple,  not  a  vestige  of  which  remains. 
Behold  here  prophecy  fullfilled;  the  candlestick  is  removed. 

Some  historical  item,  worthy  of  recollection,  touching 
Ephesus  deserve  note.  Timothy,  the  beloved  disciple  of  Paul, 
was  its  first  bishop,  who  was  finally  martyred  by  the  Ephe- 
sians,  who  fastened  him  to  a  horse's  tail  and  dragged  him  to 
death.  John,  the  beloved  disciple  of  Jesus,  with  Mary,  the 
mother  of  our  Lord,  came  to  Ephesus,  and  while  there,  Mary 
sickened  and  died.  John  wrote  his  gospel  there,  and  John 
the  Revelator  passed  through  the  city  on  his  way  to  the  Isle 
of  Patmos  to  which  he  was  banished  where  he  was  shown  the 
things  recorded  in  his  book  of  Revelation.  In  closing  this  lect- 
ure, we  would  say  to  the  youth  of  Zion:  study  well  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  remembering  that  the  words  of  God's  prophets 
never  fail.  We  shall  be  held  accountable  as  were  the  early 
churches  to  hold  fast  to  our  love  of  the  gospel. 


70  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE   PHAROS  OR  GREAT  LIGHT-HOUSE  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE 
NILE,  FIFTH  WONDER. 


THE  city  of  Alexandria  was  founded  by  Alexander  the 
Great  when  returning  from  the  conquest  of  India  by  the  great 
highway  of  nations,  the  pyramids  and  the  isthmus  of  Suez. 
At  the  the  mouth  of  the  river  Nile  stood  Alexander  viewing 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  fine  harbor  of  Alexandria.  He, 
turning  to  his  generals,  said,  "If  we  only  had  a  city  built 
here,  with  a  proper  lighthouse  to  aid  the  mariner  in  passing 
that  reef  of  rocks,  we  should  have  the  key  to  the  East."  On 
arriving  in  Babylon  and  commencing  the  rebuilding  thereof, 
he  did  not  forget  this  fine  location,  but  sent  Ptolemy  Soter 
with  men  and  means  to  build  a  city  and  a  lighthouse  there. 
This  general  commenced  his  labors,  but  during  the  building 
of  the  city  Alexander  died  at  Babylon,  and  the  council  decreed 
to  entomb  him  at  Macedonia,  but  although  the  body  was  taken 
to  Memphis  it  was  finally  deposited  at  Alexandria,  and  Ptol- 
emy made  a  tomb  befitting  the  conqueror  of  the  world,  the 
ruins  of  which  can  still  be  seen.  The  city  was  enclosed  by  a  lofty 
wall,  having  150  towers,  after  the  manner  of  Babylon,  and 
the  center  street  was  most  magnificent.  It  was  2,000  feet 
broad,  and  ran  the  length  of  the  city,  from  the  gate  of  the  sea 
to  the  Canopic  gate,  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  harbor 
and  shipping,  both  on  the  Mediterranean  and  LakeMareotic. 
On  each  side  of  the  broad  street,  and  through  its  center,  trees 
were  planted  for  a  delightful  shade  for  the  promenaders,  who 
•could  either  walk  or  drive  in  the  delightful  avenue.  Outside 
of  the  Canopic  gate  was  a  spacious  circus  for  chariot  races,  and 
on  the  east  of  the  circus  a  gymnasium  600  feet  in  length, 
with  baths,  saloons  and  booths,  tables  and  seats,  that  all  might 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  71 

gratify  their  tastes  in  eating  and  drinking,  or  in  games  and 
plays  to  their  fancy. 

In  the  distribution  of  the  provinces,  Egypt  was  given  to 
Ptolemy  Soter  who  soon  made  it  an  independent  kingdom. 
During  his  reign  he  developed  its  great  resources  and  lived  to 
see  the  prediction  of  Alexander  verified,  as  it  became  the 
greatest  commercial  city  of  the  world,  the  commerce  of  the 
eastern  world  entering  its  ports  and  enriching  its  citizens. 
Ptolemy  Soter  lived  to  build  the  lighthouse  to  the  third  story 
and  died.  His  son,  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  succeeded  him, 
and  finished  the  building  which  was  built  in  the  bay  on  an 
island  called  Pharos,  quite  a  distance  from  the  main-land. 
Dinocrates,  the  architect,  united  the  main-land  with  the  island 
by  a  causeway  of  rock  and  earth,  thus  dividing  the  bay  in  two. 
It  is  thought  that  Ptolemy  Soter  contemplated  ruling  Egypt 
as  he  was  vieing  with  Babylon  during  the  life  of  Alexander. 
The  city,  even  in  his  lifetime,  was  15  miles  in  circumference, 
and  contained  a  population  of  300,000  free  people  with  nearly 
as  many  slaves. 

In  640  A.  D.,  when  the  Saracens  captured  Alexandria, 
they  found  4,000  palaces,  4,000  baths,  400  theaters,  12,000 
shops  and  40,000  Jews  attending  them,  who  paid  tribute  for 
the  privilege.  Ptolem}7  Philadelphus  was  of  a  literary  turn 
and  collected  all  the  manuscripts  he  could  find;  and  it  was  his 
ambition  to  have  in  his  library  a  copy  of  every  book  in  the 
world.  He  therefore  tried  to  get  the  Jewish  scriptures  but 
was,  of  course,  refused;  but  he  at  length  invited  70  of  the 
Jewish  Rabbis,  who  were  learned  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  to 
translate  their  sacred  scriptures  into  his  language,  who  agreed 
to  the  proposition  and  translated  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
Hebrew  to  the  Greek.  Thus  the  scriptures  were  first  given  to 
the  Gentiles.  It  required  over  a  year  to  complete  the  trans- 
lation. They  were  maintained  by  the  king.  During  his  reign, 
he  collected  a  library  of  700,000  volumes  which  were  des- 
troyed by  Omar  in  the  sixth  century. 

This  Mohammedan  caliph,  on  pillaging  the  city,  found  this 
noted  collection  of  books  and  asked  the  question  of  those  who 


72  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

wanted  to  save  them:  "Do  they  agree  with  the  Koran?  If  they 
do  we  don't  want  them,  and  if  they  don't  we  must  destroy 
them.  Burn  them  anyway,"  and  the  precious  volumes  were 
fed  to  the  furnaces  to  heat  the  baths  for  his  soldiers.  The 
books  were  kept  in  a  building  constructed  for  that  purpose,  on 
shelves.  Librarians  were  in  attendance  to  find  any  volume 
wanted.  The  burning  of  this  library  was  a  great  loss  to  the 
world,  as  many  unanswerable  questions  could  be  solved  by 
them,  such  as  the  art  of  embalming  dead  bodies,  as  note  the 
body  of  Myciranus  in  the  British  Museum,  embalmed  in  the 
time  of  Abraham.  The  art  of  hardening  copper  has  been 
lost  since  the  time  of  Omar. 

The  Pharos  was  made  of  freestone  of  several  stories,  each 
receding  as  erected.  Ptolemy  Soter  finished  the  third  story 
before  his  death  and  Ptolemy  Philadelphius  made  a  round  shaft 
or  column  which  he  carried  to  the  height  of  450  feet  and  erected 
a  room  or  place  for  fire  on  the  top  which  could  be  seen  at  sea  100 
miles,  and  the  smoke  a  much  greater  distance  by  day.  The 
smoke  was  as  essential  as  the  fire,  there  being  no  mariner's  com- 
pass in  those  days  some  familiar  object  was  needed  to  steer  by. 
Ptolemy,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sailors,  kept  fire  continually  burn- 
ing, and  ordered  his  architect  to  place  his  inscription  on  the 
building,  thus:  "King  Ptolemy  to  the  Gods,  the  Saviors  for 
the  Benefit  of  Sailors,"  but  Sostratus,  the  architect,  wishing  to 
claim  all  the  glory  for  the  celebrated  building  engraved  his  own 
name  on  the  hard  marble  which  read:  "Sostratus  the  Snidian  to 
the  Gods,  the  Saviors  for  the  benefit  of  Sailors."  and  coated  it 
with  cement,  and  on  the  cement  he  placed  the  king's  inscription. 
When  time  had  decayed  the  cement,  the  name  of  Ptolemy 
disappeared  and  that  of  Sostratus  became  visible,  but  instead 
of  immortalizing  his  name  it  became  a  proverb  for  evil 
among  all  nations,  or  a  by-word  for  fraud.  (The  "snide"). 

This  celebrated  wonder  stood  for  many  years  the  glory  of 
the  Egyptians  when  it  suddenly  came  to  an  end  by  an  earth- 
quake. As  the  tidal  wave  rushed  shoreward  the  Pharos  was 
toppled  from  its  immense  height  of  450  feet  and  disappeared 
in  the  sea.  Its  cost  was  800  Alexandrian  talents,  which  in  our 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TI.MKS  73 

coin  would  be  $1,650,000.  It  was  finely  ornamented  with 
marble  and  surrounded  by  a  sea  wall  to  protect  it  from  storms. 
Many  buildings  in  its  imitation  have  been  reared  but  none 
have  approached  this  great  wonder.  The  nearest  approach 
to  it  was  the  Eddystone  lighthouse  situated  in  Plymouth 
Sound,  about  ten  miles  from  Ram's  Head,  England. 

This  Pharos  (for  all  lighthouses  are  called  after  the  great 
fifth  wonder)  of  the  British  is  a  great  boon  to  the  sailors  of  the 
sound,  as  it  is  high  tide  at  Plymouth  Rock  at  full  moon  at 
5:15,  when  the  tide  rises  eighteen  feet  and  the  current  runs 
with  a  great  velocity  in  a  contrary  way  to  that  of  the  channel, 
making  it  very  dangerous  for  navigators. 

The  first  Eddystone  lighthouse  was  begun  by  Henry 
Winstanley  in  1696  and  and  finished  in  1703.  While  super- 
intending some  repairs  that  year  the  unfortunate  architect  and 
all  his  men  were  caught  in  the  lighthouse  in  a  terrific  storm, 
and  they,  with  the  entire  building,  were  blown  into  the  ocean. 
Nothing  but  an  iron  stanchion  and  a  piece  of  chain  were  left  to 
tell  the  sad  story  of  their  destruction. 

In  1706,  Rudyerd,  a  silk  mercer  of  Ludgate,  London, 
advanced  the  theory  that  a  wooden  building  constructed  on  a 
certain  plan  would  stand  the  storms  of  the  sound  better  than 
anything  else,  so  he  was  commissioned  to  build  one  which  he 
did  on  an  improved  plan  of  his  own,  which  did  resist  the  fury 
of  the  waves  that  so  frequently  visit  the  sound,  but  could  not 
resist  fire  and  in  1755  it  perished  by  that  element.  In  1756 
John  Smeaton  commenced  to  build  the  present  Eddystone 
lighthouse,  copying  after  the  great  fifth  wonder,  making  it  of 
stone  and  round,  and  each  story  receding  inward  like  the 
Egyptian  wonder.  He  completed  it  in  1759.  It  stands  to  this 
day,  and,  from  indications,  will  stand  for  centuries,  proving 
that  the  pyramidal  plan  is  the  only  one  for  standing  severe 
usage.  Ptolemy  Soter,  living  in  the  third  century  before 
Christ,  knew  this,  and  built  his  fifth  wonder  in  this  shape? 
which,  but  for  the  earthquake,  would  be  standing  yet. 


74  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  MAUSOLEUM,    SIXTH  WONDER. 

THE  kingdom  of  Caria  flourished  in  the  fourth  century 
B.  C.  and  was  a  powerful  nation  previous  to  the  time  of  Mau- 
solus,  to  whose  memory  the  wonder  was  reared.  The  city  of 
Halicarnassus  was  the  capital  which  was  built  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean where  the  Turkish  city  of  Budrun  now  stands.  It 
was  beautifully  situated;  the  bay  of  Halicarnassus  receding 
inland  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe.  The  city  was  built  on 
both  sides  of  this  circle,  the  celebrated  tomb  of  the  king,  the 
Mausoleum  on  what  would  be  called  the  toe  calk  of  the  horse- 
shoe, the  site  being  visible  from  any  part  of  the  city.  The  death 
of  the  king  was  353  B.  C.,  and  Artemesia,  the  queen,  was  so 
grief-stricken  thereat  that  she  committed  one  of  the  most  sin- 
gular freaks  recorded  in  history,  viz.,  that  of  taking  the  king's 
heart  from  his  body,  reducing  it  to  ashes  and  drinking  them 
in  wine.  It  was  the  custom  to  reduce  bodies  to  ashes.  The 
king's  were  placed  in  a  very  magnificent  urn  made  of  gold? 
ivory  and  precious  stones.  As  a  repository  for  this  little  urn 
the  great  sixth  wonder  was  reared  as  a  loving  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Mausolus,  the  king.  Artemesia,  after  the  crema- 
tion df  the  body  of  her  beloved,  conceived  the  idea  of  making 
a  tomb  for  the  urn  that  held  these  ashes,  so  she  gathered  her 
architects  and  the  result  of  their  decisions  was  the  celebrated 
Mausoleum.  As  we  before  stated,  the  city  was  in  shape  an 
amphitheater.  In  the  lowest  part  was  the  forum;  up  the  hill 
in  the  middle  of  the  curve  was  a  large  square;  in  this  square 
the  tomb  was  erected;  above  the  tomb  on  top  of  the  hill  stood 
the  temple  of  Mars,  which  contained  a  colossal  statue  of  the 
god;  on  the  right  were  temples  to  Venus  and  Minerva.  The 
palace  commanded  a  view  of  the  harbor,  temples,  forum  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


75 


and  the  square  referred  to.  Artemesia  chose  this  site  for  the 
tomb  that  it  might  ever  be  in  view  from  the  palace  which 
was  built  by  Mausolus  so  strong  and  lasting  that  Pausanias 
found  it  in  splendid  shape  500  years  after  Mausolus'  time. 
The  tomb  was  commenced  by  the  great  architects  Pythis  and 
Satyrus  and  was  nearly  square;  its  length  was  113  feet,  width 
93  and  height  140  feet.  The  first  terrace  was  60  feet,  and  was 


TOMBS    IN    INDIA. 

supported  by  3G  columns  of  polished  marble,  and 'between  the 
columns  on  the  ground  floor  were  placed  statues  of  the  gods  of 
the  Carians,  and  four  different  artists  were  engaged  on  these 
statues.  Scopus  of  Ephesus  made  the  statue  of  Venus,  which 
is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum,  Leochares  the 
Spartan,  made  all  the  statues  on  the  !.west  side,  Timothus 
those  on  the  south  side  and  Bryaxis,  those  on  the  north.. 


76  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

The  steps,  three  in  number,  to  reach  the  floor  were  polished 
marble  and  extended  around  the  building.  The  first  terrace 
was  ornamented  with  bass  reliefs,  instead  of  statues,  and  on 
these  were  painted  the  wars  of  the  Trojans.  Two  doors  in 
the  second  terrace  were  placed  east  and  west  to  enter  the 
tomb,  the  terrace  receding  inward,  like  the  pyramid,  left  a 
walk  wide  enough  for  six  persons  to  walk  abreast,  and  at  the 
four  corners  of  the  terrace  the  four  favorite  gods  of  the  king 
were  placed  in  statue  to  guard  his  tomb.  On  the  top  of 
the  second  terrace  was  a  flower  garden  with  forest  trees. 
Artemesia  intended  to  walk  in  the  beautiful  garden  with  her 
maids  of  honor  and  mourn  the  loss  of  her  beloved  king,  but 
she  did  not  live  to  see  the  garden  planted,  nor  even  the 
second  terrace  completed,  but  died  two  years  after  her  hus- 
band and  her  body  was  reduced  to  ashes,  and  it  is  supposed 
they  were  deposited  with  those  of  her  husband.  The  archi- 
tects did  not  abandon  the  work  after  the  death  of  the  queen, 
but  completed  it  according  to  the  plan  laid  down  by  her,  for 
the  benefit  of  science  and  for  their  own  honor.  The  third 
terrace  was  most  beautifully  decorated  with  sloping  panels, 
with  hieroglyphics  of  the  wars  of  the  Greeks  and  Amazons, 
Hercules  being  among  the  combatants,  and  these  finely  fin- 
ished sculptures  were  eleven  in  number  and  are  now  in  the 
British  Museum.  The  Sultan,  Ab-dul-Megid,  gave  them  to 
Sir  Stratford  Canning  for  the  British  government.  They 
were  found  by  the  Knights  of  Rhodes  in  A.  D.  1522  in  a  heap 
of  rubbish  at  Halicarnassus  and  were  used  by  them  in  con- 
structing the  castle  of  St.  Peter  in  the  city  above  mentioned. 
On  the  top  was  a  splendid  statue  of  Pheaton  with  a  four  horse 
chariot  supposed  to  represent  the  charioteer  driving  the 
king  to  the  realms  of  bliss.  On  the  angle  of  the  terrace 
facing  the  city,  was  a  high  monument  and  on  top  a  full-life 
statue,  on  the  other  angle  opposite  another  monument  was 
reared  to  represent  the  good  queen,  a  female  figure  wringing 
her  hands,  the  hair  dishevelled  and  the  tears  flowing,  and 
she  in  a  prostrate  position,  as  though  looking  for  the  return 
of  her  lord.  The  expense  of  this  tomb  must  have  been 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  77 

enormous;  for  the  great  philosopher  Anaxagoris,  on  viewing 
it  said,  "What  an  immense  amount  of  money  is  here  ex- 
changed into  stone!" 

The  sight  of  the  mausoleum  on  entering  the  bay,  when 
the  trees  were  in  full  bloom  as  also  the  lovliest  flowers,  left 
an  impression  for  the  beauties  of  nature  not  easily  forgotten. 
At  the  erection  of  the  base  of  the  mausoleum  the  queen 
offered  a  large  reward  for  the  best  elegy  on  the  virtues  and 
excellencies  of  Mausoles  which  was  awarded  Theopmpus, 
a  pupil  of  Socrates.  This  tomb  was  vastly  the  finest  ever 
conceived  by  man  and  should  justly  rank  as  one  of  the 
seven  wonders.  The  urn  containing  the  king's  ashes  was 
placed  on  an  altar  covered  with  ivory  and  gold,  and  the 
interior  most  elaborately  bespangled  with  gold.  The  bar- 
barians, in  after  ages,  overran  the  eastern  world  and  tore  it 
down  in  their  search  for  treasure. 

We  must  not,  however,  omit  to  mention  some  of  the 
great  tombs  of  both  ancient  and  modern  architects,  in  our 
description  of  this  great  wonder,  which,  although  vastly 
inferior  to  the  mausoleum,  are  still  worthy  of  notice  in  our 
lecture.  One  of  the  tombs  of  the  ancients  worthy  of  note 
is  that  of  Darius,  king  of  Persia,  which  was  carved  out  of  a 
huge  rock  to  hold  his  remains  when  he  should  die,  which, 
although  made  2300  years  ago  still  exists  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation.  The  portico  is  supported  by  four 
columns,  20  feet  high;  in  the  center  is  the  form  of  a  doorway, 
the  entrance  to  the  tomb.  The  doorway  consists  of  an  ark 
supported  by  two  rows  of  figures,  life  size,  holding  the  ark 
with  uplifted  hands,  and  on  each  angle  stands  a  griffin 
to  guard  it.  This  animal  was  one  of  the  gods  of  the  ancient 
Persians.  On  each  side  of  the  ark  were  nine  niches  con- 
taining each  a  statue  in  bass  relief;  on  the  ark  stands  the 
image  of  the  king  with  a  bent  bow  in  his  hand,  worshiping 
the  sun,  which  is  seen  above  the  altar  where  he  stands,  while 
over  his  head  stands  his  ferouher  or  disembodied  spirit. 
Darius  was  placed  in  this  tomb,  his  body  being  preserved  in 
honey  and  wax. 


78  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

Diodorus  Siciclus  mentions  a  tomb,  made  by  Alexander 
the  Great  in  honor  of  Hepastion,  a  Macedonian  officer  much 
endeared  to  Alexander,  and  his  constant  companion  in  scenes 
of  conquest  or  of  pleasure,  at  whose  death  Alexander  was 
so  inconsolable  that  he  shed  tears  and  ordered  the  sacred 
fire  to  be  extinguished  which  had  only  been  done  at  the 
death  of  a  Persian  king.  The  physician  who  attended 
Hepastion  in  his  last  illness,  was  accused  of  negligence  and 
inhumanly  put  to  death.  This  tomb  was  made  in  the  same 
style  as  the  great  mausoleum,  benching  in,  the  lower  part 
was  adorned  by  the  beaks  of  240  ships;  the  next  story 
was  decorated  with  statues  of  the  gods  of  the  Grecians; 
the  third  story  was  finished  with  various  animals  and  birds, 
and  on  the  top  were  figures  of  syrens.  The  singers,  who 
sang  dirges  for  the  dead,  were  concealed  within  them. 

The  tomb  of  the  emperor  Hadrian  also  deserves  note. 
It  was  a  circular  building  of  the  characteristics  of  those  men- 
tioned, consisting  of  one  smaller  story  above  another,  and 
was  square  at  the  base,  having  a  circular  building  above  it, 
then  a  smaller,  etc.  On  the  top  were  numerous  fine  marble 
statues,  which  were  broken  to  pieces  and  hurled  down  upon 
the  Goths,  by  the  soldiers  of  Belisarius,  when  the  Goths  were 
attempting  to  storm  the  building.  This  tomb  of  Hadrian 
stands  without  the  portico  aurilla,  about  a  stone's  throw  from 
the  walls  and  is  called  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo  since  the  time 
of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,  who,  it  is  said,  in  crossing  the 
bridge  as  he  went  to  pray  for  the  cessation  of  a  pestilence 
then  raging,  beheld  on  the  summit  of  the  tomb  of  Hadrian 
the  figure  of  an  angel  waving  a  sword.  In  commemoration 
of  this  very  doubtful  vision,  the  brazen  statue,  which  now 
crowns  the  top  of  the  building,  with  its  new  name  was  given 
to  the  tomb  of  the  Maximilian  church  at  Jarspruck  and  is  wor- 
thy of  note  as  being  a  modern  tomb;  this  tomb  is  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  church  on  a  platform  approached  by  steps 
of  red  marble.  The  sides  of  the  tomb  are  divided  into  twen- 
ty-four compartments,  on  the  sides  of  which  are  represented 
in  sculpture,  the  warlike  deeds  of  the  emperors.  The  work- 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  79 

manship  of  these  bass  reliefs  is  most  exquisite  and  comprises 
the  most  princely  decorations  ever  seen.  The  tomb  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  colossal  statue  of  the  emperor,  kneeling  in 
prayer,  and  around  it  are  four  figures  of  smaller  size  in  bronze; 
but  the  most  striking  feature  is  two  long  lines  of  bronze  stat- 
ues on  each  side,  as  if  to  guard  it.  There  are  28  statues 
of  which  20  represent  kings  and  princes  of  the  house  of 
Hapsburg,  and  8  of  them  represent  relatives  of  Maximilian. 
Nothing  more  impressive  than  these  rows  of  guards  can  be 
conceived.  They  appear  solemn  and  gloomy  and  as  though 
waiting  for  the  occupants  to  arise  and  start  them  off  to  their 
palaces. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE    COLOSSUS   OF    RHODES. 


RHODES  is  a  city  on  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean, 
lying  nearly  opposite  the  coasts  of  Lycia  and  Caria,  from 
which  it  is  about  twenty  miles  distant.  The  island  is  120 
miles  in  circumference,  with  an  uneven  breadth,  and,  as 
Josephus  relates,  was  settled  by  the  Phoenecians  as  a  supply 
station  in  their  voyages  between  Egypt  and  the  British  Isles.  The 
tin  mines  of  Cornwall  were  known  to  those  early  navigators  and 
commerce  in  tin  established.  Their  vessels  being  small  they 
had  supply  stations  for  their  accommodation.  The  city  of 
Rhodes  has  a  renowned  history  and  is  situated  on  the  east  side 
of  the  island,  being  built  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre  with 
many  splendid  buildings.  Of  its  sufferings  the  world  can 
attest.  Like  all  the  rest  of  Greece  it  submitted  to  Alexander 
the  Great,  but  at  his  death  the  Rhodians  drove  out  his  troops 
and  regained  their  independence;  and  perceiving  the  grow 


80  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

ing  importance  of  Ptolemy  Soter,  they  were  wise  enough  to 
court  his  favor  and  allied  themselves  to  the  Egyptian  king. 
Their  island  had  been  invaded  by  the  barbarian  hordes,  who 
overran  the  eastern  world,  and  Antigones  was  implored  for 
aid  to  repel  the  invaders,  who  expelled  them  by  aid  of  the 
Rhodians  and  pledged  themselves  to  aid  them  again  when 
needed.  After  a  time  Antigones  declared  war  against  Egypt, 
raising  an  army  to  invade  it.  He  called  on  the  Rhodians  to 
assist  in  prosecuting  the  war,  but  they  being  allies  to  the 
Egyptians  and  receiving  their  supplies  from  Egypt,  thought 
it  impolitic  to  make  enemies  of  their  best  friends;  they,  there- 
fore refused  to  aid  Antigones  which  incensed  that  monarch 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  sent  his  army  to  conquer  Rhodes. 
His  son  Demetrius,  its  commander  was  furnished  with  the 
best  war  armaments,  consisting  of  battering-rams,  engines 
catapults,  etc.,  as  Rhodes  was  no  mean  city,  being  defended 
by  no  less  than  three  walls  on  the  sea  side,  and  a  huge  wall 
and  inoat  on  the  land  side.  Setting  sail  with  370  vessels  of 
war  and  40,000  soldiers,  he  beseiged  the  city  and  for  14 
months  tried,  ineffectually,  to  enter  it,  but  the  Rhodians, 
having  received  aid  from  their  ally  Ptolemy,  were  ena- 
bled to  repulse  him  and  compelled  him  to  accede  to  peace 
on  condition  that  they  should  be  his  allies  against  all  but 
Ptolemy.  These  terms  he  accepted,  the  seige  was  raised,  and 
being  invited  to  participate  in  a  festival  given  in  honor  of 
their  ally  he  entered  Rhodes  and  was  so  well  treated  by  his 
late  enemy,  whose  valor  in  defending  their  city  against  his 
veterans  he  greatly  admired,  he  presented  them  with  his  war 
implements. 

After  his  departure,  the  Rhodians,  believing  that  Apollo, 
their  tutelary  god,  had  been  there  in  person  aiding  them 
against  Demetrius:  they  sought  to  show  him  gratitude  by 
public  demonstration;  they  therefore  sold  the  war  implements, 
the  present  of  Demetrius,  for  300  talents  which  enabled  them 
to  buy  brass  and  rear  the  Colossus.  The  finest  building  in 
the  city  was  the  temple  of  Apollo,  containing  a  magnificent 
image  of  that  god,  yet  they  must  have  an  image  outside 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  81 

that  all  might  view,  and  thus  remember  this  great  victory. 
The  Colossus  was  therefore  set  up  on  the  outer  wall  of  the 
harbor,  its  face  to  the  sea  and  holding  in  its  right  hand  a 
torch  or  vessel  containing  fire.  It  was  admirably  made, 
with  fine  flowing  hair,  the  lyre,  an  instrument  of  music,  in 
his  left  hand;  a  bow  and  torch  in  his  right,  as  though  looking 
for  his  prey.  He  stood  with  one  foot  on  each  side  of  the 
harbor  wall  on  an  abutment  made  to  sustain  his  immense 
weight.  The  vessels  sailed  into  port  between  his  feet.  He 
was  made  hollow  and  of  plates  of  brass  riveted  together,  and 
stood  125  feet  high.  Strabo,  the  historian,  says  that  when  he 
was  set  upon  the  outer  wall  and  the  torch  lighted,  a  gale 
blowing  inland  revealed  the  fact  that  he  was  top  heavy,  and 
that  a  severe  gale,  (no  uncommon  thing  for  the  Isle  of  Rhodes,) 
would  topple  him  over,  they  therefore  ballasted  his  legs  with 
cut  stone,  riveting  them  to  the  inside  of  the  leg  up  to  the 
knee.  Strabo  states  that  the  fire  tender  would  open  a  door 
in  the  right  heel,  and  that  a  winding  staircase  went  through 
the  leg,  body  and  right  arm,  and  in  this  way  he  could  reach 
the  fire  vessel  and  replenish  it.  This  was  the  only  way  to 
the  top  of  the  Colossus.  From  the  torch  of  the  Colossus  a 
magnificent  view  could  be  had  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
Syria,  and  of  the  ships  sailing  to  Egypt;  as  also  the  main, 
land.  The  image  was  most  artistically  executed,  and  when 
viewed  at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  looked  like  a  golden  man 
holding  up  his  inviting  torch  to  light  mariners  to  the  hospi- 
table port  of  Rhodes. 

The  colossus  was  first  constructed  300  years  B.  C.  and 
after  standing  60  years  it  was  thrown  down  by  an  earthquake 
which  rent  the  island.  It  fell  backwards  through  a  large 
building  called  the  arsenal,  where  the  arms  and  war  imple- 
ments were  stored.  The  Rhodians  after  the  fall  of  the  image 
discovered  that  a  great  source  of  wealth  was  lost  to  the  city 
as  vast  numbers  constantly  came  to  gaze  upon  this  great  wonder. 
Urged  by  the  loss  of  this  revenue  they  therefore  solicited  aid 
from  the  various  powers  of  Asia  to  raise  the  fallen  image. 
This  was  speedily  sent  by  all  the  powers  called  upon,  and  the 


82  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

fallen  statue  would  soon  have  been  reinstated  but  it  was  for- 
bidden by  the  oracle  at  Delhi;  it  therefore  remained  in  ruins 
894  years,  and  was  finally  sold  as  old  brass  by  the  Saracens, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  the  island,  in  672,  A.  D.,  to  a  Jew 
of  Odessa.  The  Jew  loaded  900  camels  each  with  800  pounds 
of  this  metal.  This  gives  the  weight  of  the  Colossus,  720,000  fibs. 

There  were  also  in  Rhodes  100  other  magnificent  statues 
on  such  a  scale  of  grandeur  that  the  historian  states  that  any 
one  of  them  would  ennoble  a  city. 

The  Saracens  took  Rhodes  in  the  sixth  century  and  re- 
tained it  until  the  eighth,  when  it  was  restored  to  the  Greeks 
who  retained  it  until  the  year  1365  of  the  Christian  era.  It 
was  then  taken  by  the  Knights  of  the  order  of  St.  John,  and 
became  the  headquarters  of  the  order.  Five  years  after  their 
occupation  they  sustained  a  formidable  siege  from  Ottoman, 
sultan  of  Turkey,  but  repulsed  him.  They  then  carried  the 
war  into  the  enemy's  country  and  took  Smyrna,  maintaining 
it  as  an  outpost.  In  1365  they  made  a  descent  on  Egypt  and 
plundered  Alexandria,  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Turks 
1401,  A.  D.  Tamerlane,  emperor  of  the  Turks,  took  Smyrna 
back  from  them  and  sought  to  take  Rhodes,  but  was  repulsed 
by  the  Knights.  Three  times  after  this  the  city  was  besieged 
by  the  Turks  without  avail,  but  in  1552  Solyman,  sultan  of 
Turkey,  laid  siege  to  it  and  with  cannon  and  gunpowder  over- 
powered the  Knights,  who  were  abandoned  by  their  breth- 
ren in  Europe,  who  thought  it  useless  to  try  to  relieve 
Rhodes  as  they  held  such  a  distant  outpost.  Valeret,  the 
grand  master  of  the  order,  on  learning  this  concluded  terms 
with  Solyman,  and  the  vanquished  were  allowed  to  take  all 
their  effects  and  depart  as  free  men  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. The  island  has  remained  in  possession  of  the  Turks  ever 
since.  There  are  none  of  the  splendid  monuments  of  the 
Knights  left  in  the  city  of  Rhodes,  the  Turks  having  demol- 
ished all  of  the  fine  towers  and  monuments. 

The  climate  here  is  most  delightful,  the  air  is  fragrant 
with  rare  flowers,  orange  and  citron  groves  and  aromatic  herbs 
which  everywhere  abound.  The  fig  tree,  lemon  and  vine 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  83 

grow  luxuriantly.  In  ancient  times  an  export  trade  was  car- 
ried on  with  the  island  but  Turkish  misrule,  as  it  always  has 
done,  has  caused  it  to  be  dependent  on  import  for  the  sustain- 
ance  of  its  inhabitants.  Apollo  was  the  god  of  fine  arts, 
medicine,  music,  poetry  and  eloquence,  of  all  of  which,  he  is 
stated  in  mythology,  to  be  the  inventor.  Mythology  also  says 
that  he  invented  the  flute,  hence  his  worship  by  the  Rhodians, 
a  people  inventive  in  the  above-named  arts. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  SIEGE    OF  JERUSALEM. 


THERE  is  no  city  more  revered  than  Jerusalem.  Almost 
every  nation  considers  it  a  sacred  city.  The  psalmist  says  it 
is  "beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth." 

It  stands  on  a  fine  plateau  and  is  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  deep  ravines,  or  valleys,  as  called  in  scripture.  The 
main  road  and  gateway,  as  well  as  the  Mount  of  Olives,  are 
on  the  east.  It  stands  in  latitude  31°  N.  and  longitude  35°  E.  and 
32  miles  east  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  18  from  the  Jordan 
River,  36  from  Samaria  and  20  from  Hebron.  It  was  founded  by 
Shem,  son  of  Noah;  Arphaxad,  son  of  Shem,  built  the  city  and 
reigned  king  and  was  the  Melchisedec  of  Bible  histor}-  to  whom 
Abraham  paid  tithes  when  returning  from  the  slaughter  of 
the  five  kings.  In  the  Book  of  Mormon,  (Alma  xii.,)  we  find 
the  record  of  Melchisedec's  reigning  king  of  Salem,  under 
his  father.  So  Shem  lived  longer  than  Abraham  and  was  the 
great  high  priest  by  right,  Ham  and  Japhet  losing  their  right 
by  transgression,  it  follows  that  Arphaxad,  the  son,  must  have 
been  the  noted  Melchisedec.  The  city  was  taken  by  the  Jeb- 
usites  after  the  time  of  Melchisedec,  and  made  a  stronghold, 


84  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

its  three  natural  fortifications  making  it -an  easy  place  to  pro- 
tect. When  Joshua  crossed  the  Jordan,  after  taking  Jericho, 
he  laid  siege  to  Jebus  but  could  not  take  it.  The  children  of 
Benjamin  tried  to  capture  it  but  failed,  (Judges  xxi.,21.)  It 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Jebusites  through  the  reign  of 
the  Judges.  It  was  afterwards  besieged  by  King  Saul  who 
also  failed,  but  David,  when  he  became  king,  went  up  against 
it  and  took  the  lower  city  as  Judah  and  Simeon  had  done 
before,  but  the  citadel  they  could  not  take.  They  were  on  the 
point  of  raising  the  siege  when  the  Jebusites  brought  on 
their  own  destruction,  for,  thinking  this  fortress  impregnable, 
they  sent  their  lame  and  blind  upon  the  walls  and  taunted 
the  Israelites  with  cowardice,  which  fact  enraged  David  to 
such  an  extent  that  he  proclaimed  to  his  army  that  the  first 
man  who  scaled  the  wall  and  slew  a  Jebusite  should  be  made 
chief  captain  of  the  host.  A  rush  of  the  warriors  followed 
this  proclamation,  but  Joab,  being  most  agile  of  foot,  got  upon 
the  wall  first.  The  warriors  soon  followed  and  the  way  to  enter 
the  city  was  found  and  the  city  quickly  taken.  (Samuel  v,  6-8 
and  I  Chronicles  xi.,  4-6).  David  then  made  it  his  capital, 
reared  many  splendid  buildings  therein  and  when  Solomon 
became  king  he  made  his  palace  and  built  the  temple  there, 
and  thus  it  received  the  name  of  the  city  of  the  great  king. 

No  city  has  sustained  so  many  sieges  and  been  taken  so 
many  times.  It  was  taken  by  the  Philistines  and  Arabians 
in  the  reign  of  Jehoram,  886  B.  C.  It  was  thrice  taken  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  607,  597  and  586  B.  C.,  and  was  utterly  des- 
troyed in  the  last  mentioned  year.  Cyrus  restored  it  to  the 
Jews. 

In  332  B.  C.  it  was  taken  by  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
Antiohus  Epiphanes  sacked  it  170  B.  C.  Pompey  took  it  63 
B.  C.  and  the  temple  was  plundered  by  Crasus  54  B.  C.  and 
the  city  by  the  Parthians  40  B.  C.  The  siege  it  sustained  in 
70  A.  D.  under  Titus,  the  Roman  general,  was,  however,  the 
most  terrific  siege  of  any  recorded  either  in  ancient  or  modern 
times. 

The  magnificent  temple  that  Herod  built  was  completely 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  first  temple  was  built  by  Solomon  in 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  85- 

the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  1012  B.  C.,  he  being  assisted  by 
Hyrum,  king  of  Tyre.  It  was  built  on  Mout  Moriah,  on  the 
spot  where  Abraham  stood  when  he  attempted  to  offer  up 
Isaac;  and  it  afterwards  became  the  threshing-floor  of  Arnon. 
The  whole  area  was  600  feet,  but  we  will  not  attempt  a  des- 
cription of  that  magnificent  temple  where  gold  was  plentiful 
as  silver  and  silver  as  brass  and  brass  as  iron;  where  no  sound  of 
a  hammer  or  any  iron  tool  was  heard,  but  the  rocks  were  pre- 
pared in  the  quarry,  numbered  and  sent  by  floats  to  Joppa  and 
landed  at  Jerusalem,  nor  yet  how  Solomon,  in  his  wisdom, 
arranged  his  men  in  classes  or  orders,  first  the  apprentices,, 
who  were  bearers  of  burden  or  tenders,  then  the  fellow  crafts, 
who  assisted  the  master  masons.  So  well  did  every  part  fit 
together  that  when,  with  wooden  mauls  they  were  driven  into 
place,  they  fitted  so  exactly  that  it  appeared  to  be  the  work  of 
the  Deity  and  not  of  human  hands.  This  temple  was  destroyed 
by  Nebuchadnezzar  586  B.  C.  Zerubbabel  rebuilt  it  520  B.  C. 
It  was  afterwards  enlarged  by  Herod.  It  was  finally  destroyed 
by  Titus  70  A.  D.,  of  which  we  will  make  mention  as  we  pro- 
ceed. 

After  the  death  of  Herod,  who  was  the  last  king  of 
Judah,  the  Jews  were  governed  by  governors  sent  from  Rome,, 
but,  after  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  whom  they  hoped  would 
have  freed  Israel,  they  revolted  and  tried  to  gain  their  inde- 
pendence, for  they  looked  for  a  temporal  prince  who  would 
raise  them  to  the  glory  of  Solomon  and  David,  and  when 
Jesus  came,  born  in  a  manger  of  a  lowly  maiden,  they  could 
not  accept  Him  as  their  deliverer  to  wrest  the  kingdom  from 
the  hated  Roman.  Even  the  disciples  did  not  fully  under- 
stand his  mission.  We  read  of  two  who  were  journeying  to 
Emmaus  to  whom  the  Savior  appeared,  who  said,  "We  trusted 
it  had  been  He  who  should  have  redeemed  Israel,"  showing 
that  they  looked  for  a  temporal  prince.  (Luke  xxiv.,  21.) 

After  most  of  the  apostles  were  slain  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  the  Jews  revolted  67  A.  D.  In  that  year  they  were  in- 
stigated to  revolt  by  the  cruelty  of  Florses,  the  Roman  gover- 
nor. (Josephus  xvi.,  Wars  of  the  Jews.}  Agrippa,  with  his 


S6  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

sister  Bernice,  stood  before  the  multitude  and  eloquently 
sought  to  dissuade  them  from  revolt,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
war  began  by  the  Jews  taking  the  fortress  of  Massada  by 
treachery,  and  slaying  the  Roman  garrison.  Josephus  was 
elected  general  by  the  Jews,  who  looked  upon  him  with  dis- 
trust as  he  tried  to  unite  and  discipline  them  for  the  common 
defense,  but  they  had  brought  on  the  war  for  the  purpose  of 
plundering  the  city.  Vespasian  was  sent  by  the  Roman  emper- 
or to  Judea  to  quell  the  rebellion.  Titus  was  son  of  Vespas- 
ian and  a  general  in  the  Roman  army,  and,  after  subduing 
many  of  the  cities  of  Judah  and  while  preparing  to  lay  siege 
to  Jerusalem,  the  news  came  that  the  emperor  of  Rome,  Nero, 
was  dead.  Vespasian  was  elected  emperor  and  he  returned  to 
Rome,  leaving  Titus  to  prosecute  the  war.  When  Titus  threw 
his  legions  around  the  city  it  was  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  and 
it  is  estimated  that  there  were  three  and  a  half  millions  of 
Jews  there;  some  to  attend  the  ceremony,  others  as  refugees 
from  the  cities  taken  from  the  Jews  in  different  parts  of  Judea, 
conquered  by  Vespasian,  and  Titus  shut  them  all  in,  and 
what  was  worse  there  were  different  factions  of  the  Jews  who, 
with  their  followers,  were  trying  to  get  the  mastery  of  the 
city.  These  factions,  in  their  insane  fights,  destroyed  the  pro- 
visions that  should  have  been  kept  for  the  defense  of  the  city. 
Josephus  states  that  the  famine  was  more  severe  on  the  Jews 
than  the  terrible  war.  Many  of  them  went  over  to  the  enemy 
on  account  of  the  famine.  Titus  received  them  kindly,  placed 
food  before  them,  but  they  ate  so  voraciously  that  many  died. 
Two  thousand  of  these  deserters  were  murdered  by  the  sol- 
diery and  their  stomachs  were  cut  open  in  the  search  for  the 
gold  they  had  swallowed  before  deserting.  There  was  no 
•escape,  for  the  Jews  had  slain  the  Messiah,  and  the  curse  fol- 
lowed them  and  is  with  them  to  this  day. 

Josephus  says:  "The  Jews  now  were  so  wicked  that  if  the 
Romans  had  not  come  against  them,  God  would  either  have 
caused  the  ground  to  swallow  them  up  or  water  to  overflow 
the  city  and  destroy  them  or  thunder  and  fire  to  devour  them 
as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,"  (Josephus,  Page  639.)  When  we  read 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  87 

of  the  awful  scenes  enacted  in  this  most  terrible  siege  in  which 
rats  and  mice  were  hunted  for  food,  and  mothers  ate  their  own 
children,  we  can  say  truly  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  sanction 
the  shedding  of  innocent  blood.  Josephus  further  says  that 
100,000  Jews  who  died  by  famine  and  war  were  thrown  over 
the  wall  to  be  buried  by  the  Romans,  there  not  being  room  to 
bury  them  in  the  city.  The  Savior,  when  gazing  upon  the 
city  previous  to  His  betrayal,  wept  over  it,  saying  pathetically, 
"Oh,  Jerusalem!  Thou  that  killest  the  prophets  and  stonest 
them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  oft  would  I  have  gathered 
thee  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  but  ye 
would  not."  Surely  such  a  terrible  destruction  as  did  occur 
in  the  year  70,  just  37  years  after  Jesus  had  delivered  His 
touching  prediction  concerning  the  city,  was  enough  to  cause 
weeping. 

There  is  one  item  of  history  concerning  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin not  generally  known  that  we  will  explain  here  as  it  re- 
lates to  the  siege  and  to  a  warning  of  the  Savior.  We  read 
( I.  Kings  xi.  13-29)  that  Solomon's  kingdom  would  be  divided  in 
the  time  of  his  son  and,  that  Jeroboam,  having  clad  himself 
in  a  new  garment,  was  met  by  the  prophet  Ahijah,  and  as  the 
two  were  in  the  field  Ahijah  caught  the  garment  that  was  on 
him  and  tore  it  in  twelve  pieces  and  gave  him  ten  pieces, 
leaving  two  tribes  or  pieces  for  Judah.  This  fact  is  also  prov- 
en (xii.  21)  when  Rehoboam  assembles  Judah  and  Benjamin 
to  try  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  him  again,  but  were  com- 
manded by  the  prophet  not  to  do  so,  and  they  obeyed.  We 
also  read  that  Paul  was  of  that  tribe,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  twelve  apostles  were  mostly  of  Benjamin,  but  what  we 
wish  to  show  is  the  Jews  rejected  the  Messiah.  The  tribe 
of  Benjamin  had  been  united  to  Judah  for  800  years,  and 
when  the  Savior  came  they  gladly  accepted  the  gospel  and  at 
Pentecost  they,  with  devout  Jews,  scattered  to  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  earth  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  to  their  brethren. 
At  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  were  many  Christians,  and  their 
deliverance  from  the  doomed  city  was  miraculous.  Titus  had 
commanded  a  strict  blockade;  none  could  enter  or  leave  the 


88  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES 

city,  but  the  Savior  had  said,  "When  ye  see  Jerusalem  encom- 
passed with  armies  flee  to  the  mountains,"  which  admonition 
was  strictly  carried  out  by  the  Christians  at  the  siege,  for  the 
Roman  general  Cestius,  who  should  have  obeyed  the  orders 
of  his  superior,  Titus,  withdrew  his  army  a  short  distance 
from  the  gate  he  was  guarding,  from  some  unaccountable 
cause,  and  the  Christians  fled  through  the  gate,  crossed  the 
mountains  of  Judea  and  founded  a  city  called  Plevna,  which 
stands  to  this  day.  Here  is  an  instance  of  God's  special  pro- 
tection when  His  people  obey  him. 

The  Jews,  after  the  most  heart-rending  suffering,  sur- 
rendered to  Titus  and  30,000  prisoners  were  taken  to  Rome 
where  Vespasian  set  them  to  work  on  a  large  public  building 
called  the  Colosseum  and  on  other  works. 

After  this  awful  seige  wherein,  according  to  Josephus, 
1,100,000  people  perished,  the  city  passed  through  many 
frightful  scourges.  In  637  the  patriarch  Sophronius  surren- 
dered to  the  Caliph  Omar  which  was  retained  under  his  des- 
cendants until  1084  A.  D.  when  it  was  taken  by  the  Turkish 
chief  Ortok  who,  with  his  sons,  were  so  severe  upon  the  Chris- 
tians that  the  war  of  the  Crusades  resulted  and  in  1099  A.  D. 
it  was  taken  by  the  Christians.  In  1187  A.  D.,  it  was  retaken 
by  the  sultan,  Saladin;  in  1191  Richard  Coeur  De  Lion  met 
Saladin  on  the  field  of  Askelon,  and  with  30,000  German, 
French  and  English  troops  beat  him  in  a  hard  fought  battle 
wherein  40,000  Turks  were  slain,  but  the  Christians,  after  los- 
ing two  millions,  were  finally  driven  from  the  Holy  Land 
1291  A.  D.  In  1837  it  was  ceded  to  the  sultan  of  Turkey  and 
remains  in  his  realm. 

Jerusalem  is  destined  to  be  the  theatre  of  startling  events. 
The  Mount  of  Olives  will  be  cleft  in  twain  and  a  highway 
cast  up  for  the  righteous  to  pass  to  their  inheritance.  The 
door  has  been  opened  for  the  Jews  to  return  to  their  Zion.  In 
1841  Joseph  Smith,  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  sent  Apostle 
Orson  Hyde  to  Palestine  to  dedicate  the  land  for  the  gather- 
ing of  the  Jews  to  their  Zion,  who  accomplished  that  mission 
and  on  a  fine  Sabbath  morning  in  January,  1841,  knelt 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIM  US.  89 

down  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  with  his  face  to  Jerusalem,  and 
dedicated  the  Holy  Land  for  the  return  of  Judah.  Since  that 
time  they  are  slowly  returning  to  the  land  of  their  fathers, 
and  after  the  passage  of  the  Dragon,  or  low  meridian  in  1891, 
they  will  build  a  temple  which  will  vie  with  that  built  by 
Herod. 

Then  the  Savior  has  promised  to  visit  them  after  the  ad- 
vent of  the  two  witnesses  who  will  be  slain.  He  will  then  show 
them  the  prints  of  the  nails;  they  will  believe  on  Him  and 
the  scriptures  saying  that  a  nation  will  be  born  in  a  day  will 
be  verified.  (For  full  particulars  of  the  Wars  of  the  Jews 
and  of -the  siege  of  Jerusalem  see  Josephus  and  Chamber's 
Information  for  the  People,  Vol.  II.,  also  William  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible.) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

COLOSSEUM  OF    ROME,    Z1ON    AS    IT    WAS. 

AFTER  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  emperor,  Vespasian  had 
so  many  captives  in  Rome  that  to  keep  them  in  employment 
he  conceived  the  idea  of  an  amphitheatre,  which  became  a 
wonder.  It  was  called  the  Colosseum.  30,000  Jews  were  en- 
gaged on  it.  Gibbon,  the  Roman  historian,  gives  its  dimen- 
sions at  564  feet  long,  467  feet  wide  and  140  feet  high,  having 
four  ranges  of  seats,  with  seating  capacity  for  87,000  specta- 
tors. It  was  oblong  in  shape  and  covered  nearly  five  acres  of 
ground.  The  seats  were  so  arranged  that  the  people  in  the 
back  seats,  although  they  could  not  hear  all  that  was  said, 
could  see  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  arena.  The  seats  sold 
according  to  the  range;  the  front  or  lowest  one  being  for  the 


90 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


aristocrats,  the  next  for  the  middle  class,  the  third  for  arti- 
zans,  merchants  and  traders;  the  fourth  or  back  seat  for 
slaves,  beggars,  and  the  scum  of  society,  for  all  were  admitted. 
The  great  building  was  not  completed  in  Vespasian's  time:  he 


was  succeeded  by  Titus,  his  son.  At  the  dedication  of  the 
Colosseum  100  days  were  spent,  during  which,  5000  wild  beasts 
were  slain  by  human  beings,  necessarily  entailing  a  great 
loss  of  human  lives,  so  that  it  was  baptized  in  blood,  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  91 

the  awful  scenes  afterwards  enacted  here  were  characteristic 
of  its  opening.  Here  gladiators  fought  each  other  to  the 
death,  and  when  one  had  vanquished  another  and  the  victor 
had  placed  his  foot  upon  the  neck  of  the  fallen,  he  would 
look  up  to  the  royal  pavillion  for  his  cue  as  to  whether  to 
slay  the  fallen  outright  or  not.  If  the  court  ladies  held  their 
thumbs  down  he  was  to  be  slain;  if  up,  he  was  to  be  spared, 
but  not  many  were  spared.  Their  weapons  were  a  short 
sword  and  shield.  Soldiers  were  brought  into  this  arena  to 
meet  the  wild,  starved  lion,  leopard  or  tiger;  soldiers  of  the 
cross  too,  who  being  hated  by  the  tyrant  Nero,  were  set  upon 
by  this  fiend,  persecuted  and  martyred  in  many  cruel  ways. 

This  tyrant  caused  the  city  of  Rome  to  be  set  on  fire  in  a 
number  of  places  simultaneously,  and  sat  upon  a  high  balcony 
viewing  the  conflagration,  at  the  same  time  amusing  himself 
by  playing  a  flute.  He,  then,  accused  the  Christians  of  setting 
the  fire  and  condemned  many  of  them  to  death  for  his  crime, 
he  often  aiding  the  executioners  in  the  work.  He  ordered  a 
number  of  Christians  to  be  burnt  after  covering  their  bodies 
with  pitch,  oil,  etc.  He  also  descended  into  the  arena  and 
threw  combustibles  upon  the  poor,  helpless  victims,  and  threw 
many  to  starved  lions.  This  destruction  continued,  in  one 
form  or  another,  until  it  resulted  in  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
early  Christian  faith. 

Nero  was  the  bloodiest  tyrant  of  Rome.  He  had  a  loving 
wife,  who  tenderly  showed  her  affection  for  this  inhuman 
brute,  who  finally  kicked  her  to  death  in  a  fit  of  passion.  He 
also  killed  his  own  mother  and  finally  had  to  kill  himself  to 
prevent  assassins  from  doing  so.  So  detested  was  he  by  the 
Romans  that  his  very  name  was  vexatious.  This  monster 
had,  however,  started  a  kind  of  show  that  did  not  die  with 
him,  viz.,  the  public  execution  of  Christians  in  the  arena. 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  and  many  of  the  Roman  emperors,  kept 
up  the  shows  in  the  Colosseum,  which  were  looked  upon  with 
admiration  and  fiendish  delight,  and  those  refusing  to  bow 
down  to  heathen  gods  perished  by  hundreds  rather  than  to 
apostatize.  Some  fled  into  foreign  countries  to  escape  their  bloody 


92  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

persecutors,  but  were  often  caught  and  returned  to  be  placed  in 
the  arena  of  the  Colosseum  where  in  view  of  nearly  100,000  of 
their  enemies  they  would  pass  into  eternity.  Many  fled  to 
the  catacombs  of  Rome,  underground  tunnels,  where  three 
different  stories,  miles  in  length,  were  made.  Under  the  seven 
hills  of  Rome  a  recent  survey  gives  the  measurement  of  900 
rniles  of  tunnel.  Here  the  Christian  could  find  a  safe  retreat. 
Many  lived  and  died  in  the  catacombs  and  many  saw  the  day. 
light  but  seldom,  as  the  Roman  governor  had  a  price  on  their 
heads;  they  therefore  kept  underground,  and  made  their  liv- 
ing by  cutting  rocks  for  builders  andf contractors;  taking  them 
to  the  mouth  of  the  catacombs,  from  whence  they  were  re- 
moved by  the  purchasers  who  furnished  food,  raiment  and 
fuel  in  exchange.  Here  they  could  worship  God  without  fear 
of  being  thrust  into  the  Colosseum  and  devoured  by  wild 
beasts.  They  had  a  little  chapel  cut  out  of  the  rock,  contain- 
ing stone  benches  and  pulpit,  where  the  true  gospel  was 
preached,  the  Saints  assembling  by  torch  light.  On  each  side 
of  the  tunnels  where  the  Christians  buried  their  dead  can  still 
be  traced  the  names  of  those  who  sleep  there  awaiting  the 
resurrection  morn.  They  are  cut  in  the  soft  rock  of  the  panel 
of  the  Christian's  grave,  who  is  named  and  recorded  as  being 
faithful  to  the  last.  On  reading  these  inscriptions  a  spirit  of 
holiness  permeates  the  air  and  you  are  led  to  pray  that  your 
awakening  may  be  as  glorious  as  theirs.  They  were  the  form- 
er-day Saints  having  the  true  Priesthood  of  Melchisedec,  and 
because  of  this  power  Satan  was  arrayed  against  them,  and 
through  his  agents  sought  to  destroy  their  lives. 

Daniel  (vii),  speaking  of  them  says,  they  would  be  worn 
out  and  in  A.  D.  570  this  was  accomplished,  the  Roman  gov- 
ernment driving  the  woman  into  the  wilderness  that  year,  and 
the  church  of  the  mother  of  harlots,  with  a  counterfeit  priest- 
hood was  set  up,  whom  John  saw  drunken  with  the  blood  of 
the  saints  and  martyrs,  (Rev.  xvii,  5,  6).  We  now  trace  her 
origin: 

Constantine  the  Great,  on  the  eve  of  going  to  battle  saw 
(a  mirage  it  is  supposed)  a  cross  in  the  air  whereon  were  these 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  93 

words:  "By  this  conquer."  He  was  baptized  and  became  a 
Christian  and  from  this  authority  came  the  church  of  Rome. 
Paganism  was  abolished  by  Constantine  at  the  conference  of 
Milan,  who  repealed  all  laws  unfriendly  to  Christianity,  but 
instead  of  apostles  and  prophets,  with  the  gifts  of  the  spirit, 
we  have  emperors  of  heathen  origin  setting  up  and  pulling 
down  to  suit  themselves,  as  instance  Alexander,  son  of  Mami- 
ca,  who  built  a  chapel  and  set  up  three  images  therein,  one  for 
Abraham,  one  for  Jesus  Christ  and  one  for  Apollo.  He,  like 
the  Irishman,  not  knowing  whose  hands  he  would  fall  into, 
prepared  for  Judaism,  Paganism  and  Christianity.  From  this 
it  is  said  the  image  worship  of  Rome  began.  Martin  Luther 
without  a  revelation  or  angel's  visit,  and  from  this  bitter 
fountain,  himself  as  monk,  has  given  us  modern  Christianity, 
and  these  man  teachers,  totally  uninspired,  say  there  is  no 
need  of  present  revelation.  The  Latter-day  Saints  have  the 
New  Testament  gospel  with  the  gifts  pertaining  thereto.  Paul 
says,  (/  Cor.  xiv,)  they  shall  continue  in  the  church  as 
proof  of  its  genuineness,  and  that  unbelievers  may  know  the 
true  from  false  churches. 


CHAPTER  XIV, 

THE  DREAM  OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR  AND  ZION  AS  IT  IS. 

DANIEL  was  the  fourth  prophet,  there  being  three  greater: 
Isaiah,  Ezekiel  and  Jeremiah  and  twelve  lesser:  Hosea,  Joel, 
Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Micah,  Nahum,  Habbakuk,  Zephania, 
Haggai,  Zechariah  and  Malachi.  Daniel  was  taken  captive  to 
Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  year  588  B.  C.  Though  of 
royal  blood,  of  his  parentage  we  have  no  account.  His  agree- 
able manners  won  for  him  the  king's  favor,  who  adopted  him 


94  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

with  three  other  Hebrew  youths,  and  a  provision  from  his 
table  was  ordered  for  them,  a  mark  of  the  highest  esteem. 
But  Daniel  refused  the  rich  food  and  requested  a  test  of  the 
vegetable  diet  of  his  country,  which  was  granted,  and  at  a 
stated  time  he  looked  so  much  better  than  his  companions,  that 
the  king  granted  his  request  for  pulse  and  cold  water.  By 
keeping  these  laws  of  diet,  which  are  our  "Word  of  Wisdom," 
they  received  knowledge  of  heavenly  things,  and  Daniel  had 
understanding  in  all  visions  and  dreams.  In  the  second  year 
of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  had  a  most  singu- 
lar dream.  It  is  recorded  in  the  second  chapter  of  Daniel,  that 
when  he  awoke  in  the  morning  he  had  forgotten  it;  in  his 
perplexity  he  called  to  his  aid  the  soothsayers,  astrologers, 
magicians  and  wise  men  informing  them  of  the  dream  and 
that  it  had  left  him;  and  that  he  required  them  to  recall  both 
it  and  give  its  interpretation,  under  penalty  of  death.  They  ex- 
postulating said,  "No  man  can  make  known  this  thing  unless  his 
habitation  is  with  the  gods,  but  tell  us  the  dream  and  we  will 
give  the  interpretation;"  but  the  king  proclaimed  that  unless 
the  dream  was  produced  they  should  all  be  slain,  but  that  a 
great  reward  awaited  them  if  they  made  it  known.  Daniel 
was  absent,  at  the  time,  on  business  for  the  king,  but  when  he 
found  that  the  king  had  so  harshly  decreed,  and  that  he  and 
his  comrades,  the  three  Hebrews  were  included  among  the 
wise  men  of  Babylon,  although  hated  by  the  Babylonians 
through  jealousy  of  their  position  in  court,  and  also  on  ac- 
count of  their  parentage,  he  hastened  to  Babylon  and  asked  for 
time,  promising  the  recall  of  the  dream  and  its  interpreta- 
tion. After  fasting  and  prayer  the  dream  was  made  known 
in  a  night  vision  to  Daniel  who  quickly  appeared  before  the 
king  and  stated  thus: 

"Thou  sawest,  a  great  image  whose  form  was  terrible;  its 
head  was  of  fine  gold;  its  arms  and  breasts  of  silver;  its  belly 
and  thighs  of  brass;  its  legs  of  iron,  its  feet  part  of  iron  and 
part  of  clay.  Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out  of  the 
mountain,  without  hands,  which  smote  the  image  upon  its 
feet,  that  were  of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces: 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  95 

then  was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver  and  the 
gold  broken  to  pieces  together  and  became  as  the  chaff  of  the 
summer  threshing-floors,  and  the  wind  carried  them  away 
that  no  place  was  found  for  them,  and  the  stone  that  smote  the 
image  became  a  great  mountain  and  filled  the  whole  earth. 
This  is  the  dream  and  we  will  tell  the  interpretation  thereof 
to  the  king.  Thou,  oh  king,  art  this  head  of  gold,  and  after 
thee  shall  arise  another  kingdom  inferior  to  thee,  and  a  third 
kingdom  of  brass,  which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth. 
The  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron.  *  *  *  In  the 
feet  and  toes  miry  clay  and  iron  were  equally  divided,  there- 
fore, the  kingdom  is  represented  as  partly  strong  and  partly 
broken.  Whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay,  they 
shall  mingle  with  the  seed  of  men,  but  they  shall  not  cleave 
one  to  another.  In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of 
heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  destroyed,  and 
the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms  and  it  shall 
stand  forever." 

We  have  quoted  the  dream  and  interpretation  somewhat 
fully  and  will  endeavor  to  analyze  the  same  by  the  light  of 
history  and  revelation,  for,  from  the  time  of  the  hand-writing 
on  the  wall,  when  Belshazzar's  dream  was  interpreted  by  the 
prophet,  this  great,  historic  dream  has  been  fulfilling.  We 
mark  the  stages  of  this  dream.  From  600  B.  C.  to  1945  of  our 
era  A.  D.,  by  using  Daniel's  vision  of  the  four  beasts  (mi)  it  be- 
ing the  same  as  the  dream  of  the  king,  in  theory,  but  in 
the  shape  of  four  beasts  instead  of  an  image.  To  begin  our 
research  we  lay  the  image  on  its  back  to  see  what  countries  it 
embraces;  the  head  of  gold  will  rest  in  Babylon;  the  arms 
and  breast  will  cover  Media  and  Persia;  its  belly  and  thighs 
will  include  Greece,  and  the  legs  will  make  Rome,  which  are 
the  four  great  monarchies  mentioned  by  Daniel,  and  corrobo- 
rated, historically,  as  the  great  image  seen  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Russia  is  Babylon  and  Czar  is  a  part  of  the  head  or  great  king 
Nebuchadnezzar.  By  putting  a  C  before  the  last  syllable  we 
have  a  part  of  the  head  of  Babylon,  viz.,  Czar.  Persia  is  rep- 
resented as  silver,  next  in  value  to  gold.  It  seemed  once  that 
Persia  would  never  decay,  but  it  has  dwindled  to  a  little  mon- 


96  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

archy,  which  remains  to  this  day.  The  kingdom  of  brass  is 
Greece  which  in  history  stands  unequalled;  its  brass  has,  how- 
ever, corroded,  and,  from  being  the  most  glorious  kingdom, 
has  fallen  quite  low.  Rome,  the  iron  and  clay,  which  brake 
in  pieces  all  other  kingdoms  has  only  a  name  left  to  represent 
her  proud  history.  The  little  stone  kingdom  must  stand,  for 
it  has  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  it  shall  never  be  thrown  down 
or  given  to  another  people,  and  that  it  shall  subdue  all  other 
kingdoms.  We  read  (Daniel,  vii,)  that  the  fourth  beast  was 
strong  and  terrible,  having  great  iron  teeth,  and  it  devoured^ 
brake  in  pieces  and  stamped  the  residue  under  its  feet.  It 
was  diverse  from  all  the  other  beasts  and  had  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  The  Romans  in  their  conquests  did  all  they 
could  to  remove  every  vestige  of  the  customs  and  habits  of 
the  people  they  subdued,  changing  laws,  governments  and 
land-marks,  and  removing  all  that  would  remind  the  van- 
quished of  their  former  glory  and  independence,  but  were  kind 
and  indulgent  to  their  subjects,  until  they  showed  rivalry, 
which  they  could  not  bear,  but  would  crush  out  of  existence 
rather  than  have  an  enemy  match  them  in  anything. 

We  have  now  noticed  the  image  to  the  setting  up  of  the 
little  stone  kingdom,  and  as  there  are  many  versions  in  history 
of  this  stone  kingdom,  all  trying  to  make  Protestant  Christian- 
ity the  true  church,  we  shall  see  whether  it  will  agree  with 
the  image,  or  with  the  plan  of  Apostle  Paul,  who  states  what 
the  officers  of  the  church  or  kingdom  of  Christ  would  be: 
First  apostles,  secondly  prophets,  thirdly  teachers,  then  mira- 
cles, gifts  of  healing,  etc.  Now,  as  this  is  the  form  and  these 
the  ordinances  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  there  need  be  but 
one  faith,  one  baptism,  and  one  Lord  over  all.  Do  the  Chris- 
tian sects  have  these  officers  and  gifts?  They  answer,  that 
they  used  to  be  in  the  church  but  are  now  done  away.  We 
will  establish  the  fact  that  the  true  church,  with  all  these  offi- 
cers, gifts  and  blessings,  has  been  restored  to  the  earth,  and  as 
the  explanation  of  the  ten  kings  and  the  little  horns  with  their 
times,  and  position  will  help  to  prove  the  divinity  of  this 
church,  we  use  the  figures  the  prophets  have  given  us  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  97 

note  the  prophetic  numbers.  Angel's  time,  which  means  one 
revolution  of  our  earth  around  the  sun,  or  365  days,  times, 
signifying  two  revolutions  or  720  years;  half  a  time,  180  years. 
Man's  time,  times  and  a  half,  signifies  three  and  a  half  years; 
and  as  we  need  both  times  to  explain  the  little  stone  kingdom, 
we  trust  our  readers  will  understand  these  different  number- 
ings  of  time.  Our  authority  for  using  these  numbers  we  find 
in  Genesis,  (xxix,  27),  where  a  week  is  called  seven  years;  also 
Numbers,  (xiv,  34),  where  a  day  stands  for  a  year.  We  note 
also  the  1260  years  that  has  passed  since  the  church  was  driv- 
en from  the  earth  which  Daniel  sets  as  time,  times  and  a  half 
or  1260  years.  The  angel  (Rev.  xii,  6,)  calls  the  same  time,  in 
which  the  woman  is  taken  care  of  1260  days,  which  we  know 
by  history  is  1260  years.  Again,  we  have  it  recorded  (Dan.  ix, 
26),  that  from  the  decree  of  the  Persian  king  to  rebuild  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  62  weeks  are  determined,  making  434 
years,  a  day  for  each  year,  which  were  exactly  the  years  from 
the  commencement  of  rebuilding  to  the  crucifixion  of  Messiah. 
Ten  weeks  were  given  as  the  time  of  the  Babylonish  captivity, 
which  was  70  years,  and  seven  weeks  are  recorded  by  Daniel 
from  the  crucifixion  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which 
seven  weeks  make  49  years,  which  was  exactly  the  time  Titus 
dispersed  the  Jews.  Seventy  and  one  half  are  given  (Dan.  ix, 
24,)  as  the  time  of  the  people  of  God  after  the  destruction  of 
the  holy  city  to  their  being  driven  into  the  wilderness,  and 
this  half  week  added  to  the  seven  weeks  makes  the  exact  time 
of  the  woman's  being  pursued  into  the  wilderness,  or  570,  the 
year  of  the  Priesthood's  being  taken  from  the  earth.  Its  re- 
storation in  1260  years  would  give  1830,  according  to  "Pro- 
phetic Numbers,"  a  book  published  by  Angus  McDonald.  He 
makes  the  1290  years  that  were  given  to  Daniel  by  the  angel 
to  be  30  years  before  the  1260  began,  and  carries  his  prophet- 
ic numbers  up  to  1945,  and  takes  up  the  the  birth  of  Joseph 
Smith,  Brigham  Young  and  John  Taylor  which  are  finely 
carri  ed  out.  (see  his  Table  of  Numbers,  page  14.) 

Having  given  the  reader  proof  of  the  accuracy   of  these 
prophetic  numbers,  we  now  resume  our  history  of  the  ten 


98  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

horns  of  the  beast,  or  the  ten  toes  of  the  image:  Constantine 
changed  the  religion  of  Rome  from  Pagan  to  Christian  by  the 
edict  of  Milan,  A.  D.  313,  and  moved  his  capital  from  Rome 
to  Constantinople.  From  this  beginning  we  trace  the  Christi- 
anity of  to-day.  The  ten  toes  were  formed  by  a  mingling  of 
races  with  the  Roman,  which  is  where  the  clay  and  iron  ap- 
pear. The  Vandals  were  first  in  their  descent  on  Italy.  The 
Goths  were  next.  They  and  the  Vandals  were  of  German  ex- 
traction, who  in  455  A.  D.,  descended  on  Italy,  took  Rome  and 
plundered  the  city  fourteen  days.  These,  with  the  Ostrogoths, 
Huns,  Visigoths  and  Tartars  settled  in  Europe  and  thus  we 
find  the  toes  or  horns  forming,  and  about  the  time  of  Moham- 
med, when  the  Church  had  all  passed  away,  these  bands  of 
adventurers  had  settled  in  Europe  and  Asia  Minor,  and  Rome 
had  fallen,  and  that  shortly  after  they  had  accomplished  the 
banishment  of  the  woman  and  child.  We  have  not  space  to 
give  the  history  of  the  middle  ages,  but  jump  from  Moham- 
med's time  to  Luther's.  The  Reformation  beginning  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  we  find  the  clay  and  iron  trying  to  unite  in 
the  case  of  Henry  VIII.  of  England.  Henry  was  a  zealous 
Catholic  and  had  written  a  book  against  the  Reformation  by 
Martin  Luther,  for  which  he  was  blessed  by  the  pope  and  given 
the  title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith.  He  was  amply  prepared 
for  this  defense  of  the  church,  for,  being  the  second  son  of 
Henry  the  VII.  he  was  educated  for  the  church,  but  the  death 
of  his  brother  Arthur  made  him  heir  to  the  throne.  He  mar- 
ried Catherine,  a  Spanish  princess,  who  had  married  his 
brother  Arthur  before  him,  and  it  was  to  annul  this  marriage 
with  Catherine  that  caused  the  formation  of  the  first  toe,  or  a 
separation  from  the  body  politic,  or  iron  rule  of  the  pope. 
Henry  had  fallen  in  love  with  a  gentlewoman,  an  attendant 
upon  his  wife,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  of  divorcing  Cather- 
ine on  account  of  her  former  marriage  with  his  brother, 
which  then  would  leave  him  free  to  marry  again,  but  the 
pope,  when  applied  to  for  a  divorce,  refused  to  grant  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  influence  of  Charles  V.  emperor  of  Germany  and 
brother  of  Catherine,  who  was  one  of  the  pope's  chief  sup- 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  99 

porters.  Clement  VII.  was  very  much  perplexed  by  this  re- 
quest, yet  did  not  dare  a  direct  refusal,  but  put  Henry  off 
from  time  to  time,  for  two  years.  Henry  saw  through  the 
ruse  of  the  pope,  who  hoped  that  his  love  for  Anne  Boleyn 
would  wane  and  that  he  would  retain  his  good,  virtuous  queen; 
but  this  deception  enraged  him  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
vowed  he,  himself,  would  become  a  pope  and  that  he  would 
divorce  himself  and  marry  Anne.  He,  therefore,  proclaimed 
himself  head  of  the  church  in  England,  put  away  Catherine 
and  married  Anne  Boleyn.  He  was  excommunicated  by  the 
pope,  but  persisted  in  making  new  queens  for  England  until 
his  death.  The  only  daughter  of  Anne  was  Elizabeth,  who 
on  becoming  queen,  ratified  what  her  father  had  begun,  and 
the  result  was  the  established  church  of  England  which  makes 
the  separation,  or  first  great  toe. 

The  second  toe  is  France.  Read  her  history  and  learn 
how  she  has  fought  the  popes  to  free  herself  from  their  iron 
rule.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  went  so  far,  in  teaching  them  their 
place,  as  to  besiege  Rome  and  take  it,  but  seeing  twelve  im- 
ages, life-size,  of  the  apostles,  in  solid  silver,  he  took  them, 
converted  them  into  cash,  and  paid  himself,  partly,  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war.  The  clay  and  iron  could  not  adhere,  and 
another  separation  from  the  body  politic  resulted.  We  can- 
not in  this  little  work  give  the  history  of  each  toe;  that  would 
form  a  large  volume,  itself;  but  will  name  the  other  eight  and 
leave  the  reader  to  find  them  in  history,  as  they  show  the 
cause  of  the  separation  from  the  pope's  temporal  power.  Al- 
though most  of  these  kings  representing  the  toes,  acknowledge 
the  pope  spiritually  they  ignore  him  temporally.  The  third 
toe  we  find  is  Germany,  the  fourth  is  Spain,  the  little  toe  of 
the  right  foot  Greece,  which  was  under  the  Turkish  yoke  until 
1820,  when  it  become  an  independent  kingdom  by  aid  of  the 
French  and  English.  In  this  year  the  little  stone  kingdom 
made  its  appearance. 

Joseph  Smith  jun.,  while  asking  the  Lord  which  of  all 
the  religious  sects  was  the  true  church,  was  visited  by  the 
Father  and  Son,  in  the  woods,  where  he  had  retired  to  pray, 


100  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

and  was  instructed  by  them  that  none  of  these  churches  were 
right  but  that  he  should  be  instructed  to  set  up  the  true 
church.  According  to  "Prophetic  Numbers,"  the  first  woe  com- 
menced in  this  year,  there  being  but  nine  toes  on  the  image  now, 
and  the  kingdom  was  to  be  set  up  in  the  time  of  ten  kings.  On 
the  left  foot  of  the  image  we  find  Russia,  Turkey,  Austria, 
Italy,  and  Belgium,  which  last  toe  did  not  make  its  appear- 
ance until  1830.  In  that  year  the  Netherlands  gained  their 
independence  and  Leopold  I.  ascended  the  throne  of  Belgium 
and  in  a  few  months  after,  the  tenth  toe  made  its  appearance. 
On  the  6th  of  April,  1830,  the  little  stone  kingdom  was  set  up 
with  six  members,  and  every  gift  and  blessing  established  in 
proper  order.  The  church  thus  established  was  named  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Joseph  was 
instructed  continually  by  holy  angels,  and  by  the  Savior  himself, 
who  gave  it  His  name.  Jesus  said  His  church  should  be  hated  by 
all  men.  Does  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  the  Mormon  Church,  so 
called,  is  the  only  church  of  which  this  hatred  is  true?  Driven 
and  persecuted  since  its  rise,  and  finally  expelled  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  it  still  survives.  The  little  horn  is  still  making 
war  upon  the  Saints,  imprisoning  and  harassing,  as  Daniel 
says  it  would  do  until  the  Ancient  of  Days  would  sit. 
This  little  horn  is  easily  known  as  it  was  to  arise  after  the  ten 
kings,  have  two  eyes  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things 
against  the  Almighty,  and  think  to  change  times  and  laws. 
The  blind  horn  is,  in  this  verse,  clearly  defined  as  the  beast. 
Rome,  ruled  over  blind  subjects,  put  itself  in  place  of  God, 
and  wore  out  the  Saints  who  were  given  into  its  hands  until 
a  time  and  times  and  the  dividing  of  time,  or  1260  years. 
The  seeing  horn,  referred  to  above  will  make  war  on  the  Saints 
and  prevail  against  them  until  the  Ancient  of  Days  will  come. 
This  horn  is  the  United  States,  which  came  out  of  the  ten 
kingdoms  of  the  beast.  Three  kings  fell  before  it,  viz.,  Eng- 
land, France  and  Spain  who  had  possessions  in  the  land  of 
Joseph,  but  the  little  horn  fought  one  and  bought  out  two, 
thus  all  fell  from  possessing  a  hold  on  Zion,  the  Zion  of  Eph- 
rairn  and  Manasseh,  but  the  Ancient  of  Days  will  come  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  101 

give  the  judgment  and  dominion  to  the  Saints  who  will  retain 
it  forever. 

When  this  kingdom  is  given  to  the  Saints  it  will  not  be 
by  bloodshed,  but  by  the  judgments  of  an  offended  God.  The 
Apostle  Paul  says  "No  man  taketh  this  honor  upon  himself 
except  he  be  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron."  (Heb.  v,  4.)  Aaron 
was  called  of  God  by  a  prophet  and  Moses  was  called  out  of 
the  burning  bush.  Joseph  Smith  proves  his  divine  commis- 
sion by  three  witnesses  who  testify  to  the  world  that  they  saw 
an  angel,  that  he  held  the  plates  in  his  hand  and  spoke  to 
them,  and  that  they  heard  him  commission  Joseph  Smith. 
These  men  have  given  their  names  to  the  world  in  solemn 
soberness  and  one  of  them,  David  Whitmer  is  living  to-day, 
1887,  in  Richmond,  Mo.,  and  is  not  a  Mormon,  but  belongs  to 
one  of  the  sectarian  churches,  yet  avows  the  truth  of  his  tes- 
timony of  the  visit  of  the  angel  and  of  Joseph's  being  divine- 
ly inspired,  and  Mr.  Whitmer  retains  as  a  most  sacred  relic  the 
manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  as  translated  by  the  gift 
and  power  of  God  through  the  aid  of  the  Urim  and  Thum- 
mirn.  After  Joseph  suffered  martyrdom,  Brigham  Young  was 
proclaimed  president  of  the  Church,  and  many  fell  on  that 
account,  but  it  was  through  ignorance  or  wilful  faithlessness, 
for  in  1841,  Joseph  received  a  revelation  naming  the  officers 
of  the  Church  and  denning  their  duties,  (Doc.  and  Cov.  Sec. 
124)  and  in  paragraph  127  of  said  section  Brigham  Young  is 
called  to  do  a  certain  work  which  he  did  faithfully,  as  the 
legal  successor  of  Joseph  Smith,  he  being  the  president  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  in  the  time  of  Joseph.  Brother  John  Taylor 
became  president  of  the  Church  for  the  same  reason,  he  being 
president  of  the  Twelve  at  the  death  of  Brigham  Young. 


102  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ZiON    AS    IT    WILL    BE. 

WE  mast  depend  on  prophecy  and  revelation  for  what 
Zion  will  be,  starting  out  with  the  rule  given  by  Peter  that 
"no  prophecy  of  scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation." 
The  Bible  to  the  truth-seeker  is  a  positive  guide,  revealing 
the  future  in  a  most  marvelous  manner  as  in  the  predictions 
on  Babylon  and  concerning  the  captivity  and  dispersion  of 
Israel.  Let  us  refer  for  accuracy  of  prophecy  to  the  53rd 
chapter  of  Isaiah  and  compare  it  with  history  for  a  complete 
account  of  the  birth,  life  and  sufferings  of  the  Savior  which 
commences  "Who  hath  believed  our  report  and  to  whom  is 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed?"  There  are  any  number  of 
witnesses  who  prove  this  verse  to  be  literal.  Infidelity  is 
seizing  upon  many  and  a  person  believing  the  Bible  is  set 
down  as  being  behind  the  times  and  unversed  in  scientific 
knowledge.  Even  preachers,  in  some  instances,  aid  this  idea. 
One  divine  said  recently  that  scientifically  speaking  the  Bible 
is  no  better  than  a  last  year's  almanac,  and  the  student  of 
geology  labors  to  show  that  the  world  is  much  older  than  the 
Bible  account  makes  it.  Isaiah  saw  all  this,  hence  his  ques- 
tion. He  further  says,  "He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness,  and 
when  we  shall  see  Him  there  is  no  beauty  that  men  should 
desire  Him.  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  and  we  hid,  as  it  were,  our 
faces  from  Him." 

The  Jews  looked  for  a  Messiah  whom  they  hoped  would 
free  Israel  from  the  hated  Roman,  come  in  pomp  with  a  reti- 
nue of  angels,  set  up  a  temporal  kingdom  that  would  excel 
the  pompous  reign  of  Herod.  The  Jews  thus  fulfilled  to  the- 
letter  the  first  part  of  the  prophecy.  The  literal  fulfillment 
of  every  other  word  is  so  plainly  seen  by  the  truth-seeker 


THE  SKINS  OF  THE  TIMES.  103 

that  some  of  the  most  profligate  have  been  converted  when 
brought  to  investigate  this  remarkable  prophecy.  When  we 
consider  the  time  it  was  given,  about  600  B".  C.,  its  divine 
origin  becomes  apparent.  "But",  says  the  infidel,  "How  can 
you  prove  that  the  prophecy  was  uttered  as  you  have  stated, 
which  might  have  been  written  years  after  the  events  occurred. 
To  such  we  say,  and  challenge  successful  contradiction,  that 
the  prophecies  of  the  old  Testament  were  translated  over  two 
hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Savior.  Ptolemy  Philr 
adelphus  sought  to  purchase  the  Jewish  scriptures,  but  the 
Jews  could  not  be  induced  to  sell  their  holy  record,  the 
king  therefore  hired  70  of  the  Jews  most  learned  in  the 
Greek  language  to  translate  a  copy  of  their  scriptures  from 
the  Hebrew  into  the  Greek,  which  they  did,  and  our  Bible 
is  a  copy  of  that  very  translation  as  every  student  of  history 
will  testify.  For  after  this  translation  was  placed  in  the 
Alexandrian  library  it  was  copied  into  every  known  language 
and  it  spread  even  to  the  Indies,  and  that  hundreds  of  years 
before  the  advent  of  the  Savior.  Here,  then,  is  positive 
proof  that  this  narrative  of  the  birth,  life,  suffering  and 
death  of  our  Savior  was  written  in  almost  every  language 
nearly  200  years  before  it  happened,  and  the  other  prophe- 
cies were  also  in  the  same  book,  as  our  King  James'  transla- 
tion is  a  copy  of  that  same  Greek  copy.  Coupled  with  this 
proof  please  note  one  that  will  make  the  connecting  link  of 
the  chain  of  years,  which  we  gave  in  the  life  of  the  early 
Christians,  which  brings  the  70  weeks  or  490  years  of  the 
prophet  Daniel  to  an  end.  The  prophet  says  "Seventy  weeks 
are  determined  on  thy  people  and  on  thy  holy  city  to  finish 
the  transgression,"  etc.  Each  day  of  the  week  was  a  year,, 
therefore  the  seven  weeks  from  the  time  of  the  command- 
ment until  the  finish  of  the  work  was  49  years  (7  times  7); 
then  from  the  finishing  of  said  building  62  weeks  or  434 
years  elapsed  to  the  anointing  of  Jesus  as  the  great  High 
Priest.  His  3}  years  then  commence,  for  in  the  midst  of 
the  week  Messiah  will  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,  mak- 
ing the  483  years,  for  in  the  midst  of  the  last  week,  he  shall 


104  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

confirm  the  covenant  with  many  for  one  week,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  week  He  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  to  cease.  He 
being  the  great  sacrifice,  of  course,  it  ended  in  his  offering 
himself  at  the  end  of  his  3J  year's  ministry. 

Now  for  the  last  half  of  the  week.  Jesus,  after  His 
resurrection,  gave  commandment  to  His  disciples  to  "tarry 
at  Jerusalem  until  they  were  endowed  with  power  from  on 
high,"  which  they  did,  and  in  just  3J  years  after  the  cruci- 
fixion they  were  driven  out  of  Jerusalem,  the  70  weeks  being 
ended  and  the  490  years  of  Daniel  accomplished.  The 
abomination  of  desolation  was  set  up  in  the  holy  city,  the 
Saints  were  persecuted,  righteous  Stephen  heading  the  list  of 
martyrs.  All  this  remarkable  prophecy,  like  his  interpreta- 
tion of  the  vision  of  the  image,  was  literally  fulfilled  as  even 
profane  historians  amply  prove,  and  even  Herodotus  the 
Grecian  traveler  testifies  of  the  fulfillment  of  very  many 
things  recorded  in  the  prophecies. 

Again,  Isaiah  foretold  about  Cyrus  and  his  siege  of 
Babylon  150  years  before  he  (Cyrus)  was  born,  calling  him 
by  name  and  even  mentioning  the  animals  and  water-fowl 
that  should  inhabit  her  beautiful  palaces  which  would  have 
been  a  bold  step  for  any  man  to  take.  Suppose  an  imposter 
to  predict  that  the  great  city  of  London  would  be  destroyed 
by  abandonment,  and  her  streets  become  infested  by  wild 
beasts,  her  palaces  by  owls,  etc.,  how  soon  his  reputation  would  be 
jeopardized.  Had  some  of  the  infidels  of  to-day  lived  in 
the  time  of  Christ  how  they  would  have  made  capital  of 
the  prophecy  concerning  the  destruction  of  the  temple  where 
the  Savior  says,  "See  ye  not  all  these  things?  Verily  I 
•say  unto  you  there  shall  not  be  one  stone  left  upon  another 
that  shall  not  be  thrown  down."  Titus  burned  the  temple, 
but  left  the  walls  standing,  and  through  the  entire  persecu- 
tion of  the  early  Christain  church,  and  past  the  time  of  its 
banishment  and  to  the  time  of  the  Caliph  Omar  and  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  these  walls  still  stood  as  in  refutation  of 
the  prophecy  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  when  Omar  conceived 
the  idea  of  building  a  mosque  on  the  sacred  site  he  caused 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  105 

every  stone  of  these  walls  to  be  removed  to  make  place  for 
the  great  mosque  which  still  stands  on  the  temple  ground: 
thus  fulfilling  the  words  of  Jesus  literally;  not  one  stone  was 
left  standing  upon  another.  It  was  over  600  years  in  its  ful- 
fillment, but  like  all  the  words  of  the  prophets  it  was  veri- 
fied. 

John  the  Revelator  (ix)  speaks  of  an  event  that  should 
come  to  pass  thus:  "And  the  shape  of  the  locusts  was  like  unto 
horses  prepared  for  battle,  and  on  their  heads  were  as  it  were 
crowns  of  gold,  and  their  faces  were  as  the  faces  of  men,  and 
they  had  hair  like  women,  and  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of 
lions,  and  they  had  breast  plates  as  it  were  breast  plates  of 
iron,  and  the  sound  of  their  wings  were  the  sound  of  many 
chariots  driven  to  battle."  This  was  foretold  several  hundred 
years  before  it  transpired,  but  herein  was  a  minute  description 
of  the  Saracen  army,  the  scourge  of  the  east.  Their  cavalry 
was  such  as  had  never  been  seen  before  or  since.  Their  Arabian 
horses  were  proverbial  for  speed.  They  charged  with  the 
impetuosity  of  the  wind;  their  steel  scabbards  clanking  and 
the  noise  of  the  horses  rushing  in  the  furious  charge  made  the 
earth  tremble.  Their  long  hair  waving  in  the  wind  gave 
them  the  appearance  of  women  and  each  having  a  yellow 
turban  of  silk,  it  looked  like  a  crown  of  gold  on  the  head  of  a 
king;  and  their  extended  line  sweeping  over  the  plain  was  the 
most  imposing  sight  ever  looked  upon.  They  were  com- 
manded to  eat  no  green  thing.  Now  had  they  been  locusts 
they  must  have  eaten  green  things  to  live,  but  the  Saracen, 
wherever  he  went,  never  cut  down  a  tree  nor  trampled  down 
grain  nor  anything  that  gave  sustenance  to  man.  This  was 
the  universal  law  of  the  Saracens.  The  Koran  taught  it  to 
them  and  that  is  the  only  army  with  a  written  history  which 
requires  this  humane  law. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  (i.  26)  says,  Zion  shall  have  judges 
and  counsellors  to  rule  over  her  as  at  the  first.  We  know 
that  has  not  yet  taken  place,  for  the  little  horn  is  ruling  over 
her  and  will  continue  until  the  Ancient  of  Days  sits  and  gives 
them  dominion,  all  nations  and  languages  serving  Jesus.  He 


106  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

further  says,  "The  Saints  will  possess  the  kingdom  forever  and 
ever."  Can  we  endure  the  trials,  the  hatred  and  the  frowns 
of  the  world,  and  its  persecutions  for  such  a  kingdom?  Most 
assuredly  with  the  help  of  the  Lord.  When  the  Lord  has 
purged  Zion,  and  she  has  come  under  bondage  and  the  weak 
that  cannot  see  His  hand  in  the  great  work  of  redemption 
spoken  of  by  the  prophets  (for  it  will  seem  as  though  the  Lord 
had  forsaken  Zion)  shall  have  gone  over  to  the  other  side,  then 
will  the  Lord  deliver  Zion.  (Isaiah  li.)  He  says,  "Fear  not 
man  who  dies  and  forgets  his  Maker,  but  fear  Him  who  can 
save  and  exalt  him."  Now  this  work  cannot  be  done  by  the 
Saints  rebelling  against  the  governments  under  which  they 
may  live.  The  revelations  of  our  Church  forbid  to  shed  blood 
or  to  fight  against  human  governments,  but  the  Lord  will 
fight  our  battles  as  He  has  abundantly  promised.  We  are 
taught  by  Jesus  to  be  merciful  as  we  hope  to  obtain  mercy. 
We  should  use  every  means  but  force  to  convert  all  to  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ,  but  never  exterminate  men  because  they  do  not 
believe  as  we  do. 

Preach  repentance,  not  war  and  extermination  that  savors 
of  Lucifer.  The  Latter-day  Saints  are  willing  to  endorse  all 
truth.  We  hope  to  endure  all  things  for  Christ's  sake,  having 
the  word  of  the  prophet  Daniel  that  three  and  a  half  years 
will  end  it.  The  kingdom  will  then  commence  to  shine  forth 
and  Zion  will  be  a  delight.  The  Lord  says,  "I  will  rebuke 
the  devourer  for  your  sakes,  and  all  nations  shall  call  you 
blessed.  Neither  shall  your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time 
for  ye  shall  be  a  delightsome  land."  The  land  of  Utah  is  be- 
coming thus,  pools  of  water  are  breaking  out,  but  the  nations 
do  not  call  us  blessed.  Instead  of  being  a  delightsome  people 
we  are  represented  as  being  the  most  monstrously  degraded 
and  deluded  beings;  but  the  Lord  has  promised  to  redeem 
Zion. 

Read  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  awful  accidents  by 
land  and  sea;  the  dreadful  fires,  earthquakes  and  cyclones,  and 
with  all  our  modern  improvements,  the  fearful  loss  of  life. 
These  prove  that  the  judgments  of  an  offended  God  are  upon 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMKS.  107 

us.  Ephraim,  we  trust,  will  be  faithful  and  do  the  work  as- 
signed him  as  the  first-born,  and  as  the  lost  tribes  will  soon 
come  from  the  north  to  receive  their  ordinations  under  his 
hands,  we  should  be  very  zealous.  They  will  bring  their  rich 
treasures  to  Ephraim  and  fall  down  and  be  crowned  with  glory 
even  in  Zion  by  the  hands  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  In 
view  of  this  what  manner  of  persons  should  we  be?  Already 
the  ice  is  coming  southward.  Read  accounts  of  the  ice  moun- 
tains in  the  Atlantic  which  are  frequently  met  between  New 
York  and  Liverpool  causing  dreadful  shipwrecks,  often  delay- 
ing vessels  for  days.  In  the  JUVENILE  INSTRUCTOR  you  will 
find  nine  pictures  of  these  ice  fields  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  Latter-day  Saints  are  building  temples  to  receive 
their  northern  brethren.  With  them  we  can  unite  in  restor- 
ing the  Kingdom  of  God  and  in  building  the  temple  at  Jack- 
son County,  Missouri,  where  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  and 
cloud  by  day  will  appear.  Thus  shall  we  know  that  the  Lord 
remembers  His  people.  A  deliverer  like  unto  Moses  will  be 
with  us  and  the  former  deliverance  from  Egypt  be  absorbed  in 
the  greater  one  in  Zion.  Those  who  have  not  the  mark  of  the 
beast  in  their  foreheads  will  enjoy  the  millennial  morn  and 
prepare  for  the  New  Jerusalem  which  will  be  let  down  from 
above  and  there  will  be  no  more  persecutions. 

Israel  and  Judah  will  occupy  their  proper  places.  The 
Saints  will  enjoy  perpetual  peace  and  the  door  to  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  honest  dead  be  opened.  Those  who  have  suffered 
persecution  will  have  part  in  the  first  resurrection  and  be 
-crowned  kings  and  priests  to  the  Most  High  and  reign  with 
Him  a  thousand  years. 


108  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT. 


"AND  I  saw  a  great  white  throne  and  him  that  sat  on  it 
from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away,  and  there 
was  found  no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead  both  small 
and  great  stand  before  God,  and  the  books  were  opened,  and 
another  book  was  opened  which  is  the  Book  of  Life,  and  the 
dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  that  were  written  in  the 
books,  and  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  that  were  in  it,  and  death 
and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  that  were  in  them  and  they 
were  judged  every  man  according  to  his  works,  and  death  and 
hell  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire:  this  is  the  second  death, 
and  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in  the  Book  of  Life  was 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire."  (Rev.  xx.  11  to  end.) 

Some  few  have  taken  exceptions  to  the  lake  of  fire  and  a 
,few  would  rather  it  were  cut  out,  but  the  majority  wish  it  re- 
tained, as  the  Savior  and  the  Apostles  use  the  term.  John(Rev* 
xxii.  18,  19)  uses  it  with  a  positive  threat  that  whosoever  should 
change  the  text  should  be  accursed.  It  makes  no  difference 
to  the  Saints  what  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  will  be  as 
the  Saints  enter  upon  their  exaltation.  We  thus  leave  the  sol- 
ution of  the  lake  of  fire  to  the  wicked  and  ungodly,  and  to  aid 
the  righteous  we  refer  to  the  last  judgment.  John  refers  to  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  and  describes  the  Holy  City, 
stating  that  God  will  wipe  away  all  tears  from  the  eyes '  of  the 
pure  in  heart.  There  shall  be  no  more  death  nor  sorrow,  pain 
nor  crying.  The  city  is  of  pure  gold  like  unto  clear  glass,  and 
the  twelve  gates  each  a  pearl.  The  city  wall  is  composed  of 
precious  stones,  at  each  gate  is  an  angel,  and  on  each  gate 
one  of  the  names  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  which  are  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

We  find  (Rev.  xiv,  6)  that  an  angel  should  bring  the 
gospel  arid  we  are  also  told  what  shall  befall  those  who  wor- 
ship the  beast.  The  beast  is  Babylon,  and  Babylon  is  the 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  109 

world,  and  the  world  is  the  wicked  who  will  fall  under  the 
overwhelming  judgments  of  an  offended  God,  it  therefore 
behooves  all  to  search  diligently  for  salvation.  The  time  of 
the  end  is  at  our  doors,  and  one  of  the  signs  thereof  is  the 
great  increase  of  merchandise  in  all  the  world.  It  would 
seem  that  the  world  is  turning  to  merchandise.  John  saw 
the  merchants  mourning  the  fall  of  Babylon.  The  righteous 
will  have  joy  in  their  reign  of  a  thousand  years  and  increase 
to  all  eternity.  INCREASE,  dear  reader,  is  a  word  we  should 
contemplate;  it  is  the  key  to  eternal  glories;  it  is  the  key  of 
this  probation,  for  without  increase  labor  would  be  useless. 
Without  it,  we  could  never  hope  to  gain  anything.  Without 
it,  the  farmer  would  plow  and  sow  in  vain,  the  merchant 
speculate  in  vain,  the  manufacturer  produce  for  naught;  in 
fact,  increase  is  life's  incentive.  Without  it,  there  would  be 
no  hope  for  hereafter,  no  reward,  no  punishment,  no  advance- 
ment. Creation  would  be  at  a  standstill  forever.  There 
could  be  no  family  ties  as  this  is  the  key  to  the  family  rela- 
tion. There  could  be  no  children.  In  fact,  our  lives  hinge 
on  this  one  word,  and  Satan  is  using  his  utmost  endeavors  to 
found  his  kingdom  upon  this  very  word,  but  he  makes  his 
subjects  interpret  it  as  they  choose.  One  part  of  the  human 
family  say  "God  is  love",  and  that  he  will  never  damn  any- 
one, another  says  "Only  believe  in  Jesus  and  you  will  be 
saved;"  still  another  "All  I  have  to  do  is  to  join  such  a  church," 
and  a  third,  "It  is  predestined  that  I  should  do  exactly  as  I 
am  doing,  and  it  is  no  use  my  trying  to  do  otherwise,  and, 
therefore,  I  will  risk  it."  A  fourth  says  there  is  no  hereafter, 
that  all  ends  in  death;  that  there  is  nothing  beyond  the  grave: 
thus  all  are  in  one  way  or  another  arranging  the  future  to 
suit  themselves  although  the  Father  has  laid  down  a  code  of 
laws  to  govern  all  things.  Who  does  not  love  his  family? 
All  the  human  family  love  more  or  less  and  yet  the  majority 
utterly  fail  to  understand  the  greatest  point  in  this  all-impor- 
tant question,  the  way  to  increase  or  perpetuate  posterity 
forever.  To  illustrate,  we  will  relate  an  instance  that  came 
under  our  observation: 


110  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

We  were  in  a  distant  territory  exhibiting  our  paint- 
ings and  while  in  the  capital  city  of  the  county  to  spend 
the  Sabbath  we  encountered  at  a  hotel  an  infidel  whom 
we  should  judge  would  scorn  to  do  a  wrong  action  and 
would  suffer  death  rather  than  dishonor  his  good  name 
and  bring  reproach  on  his  family.  He  engaged  us  in  conver- 
sation, after  our  noon  meal,  and  the  subject  turned  on  the 
future  or  destiny  of  man.  He  expressed  himself  thus:  "Give 
me  a  good  living  for  myself  and  family  and  you  can  have  all 
the  hereafter."  He  was  quite  willing  to  give  all  his  interest 
in  the  world  to  come  for  a  very  moderate  sum  down,  and, 
with  a  hearty  laugh,  gave  us  to  understand  he  was  in  earnest 
in  his  convictions  of  the  hereafter.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  a 
family;  he  promptly  answered  with  a  proud  look  upon  his 
handsome  face,  "Yes  Sir,"  at  the  same  time  taking  a  photo 
from  his  breast  pocket,  of  a  sweet  little  girl.  "There,"  said 
he,  "is  my  daughter,  and  here  is  her  mother,"  exhibiting 
another  photo  of  a  very  fine  looking  lady;  "These  are  my 
family  and  I  am  not  ashamed  of  them  either.  I  am  soon 
going  home  to  see  them.  I  have  been  gone  some  months 
from  them,  and  it  seems  an  age." 

"Ah,"  replied  I,  "and  for  these  loved  ones  you  travel, 
risking  life  and  limb  to  increase  their  happiness,  and,  although 
you  value  them  higher  than  any  other  thing  mortal,  still 
you  virtually  give  them  a  deed  of  separation  at  death,  for 
there  is  no  marriage  in  heaven  as  all  things  must  be  sealed 
up  for  eternity  in  this  life.  Peter  was  given  the  keys  that 
bind  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  and  that  loose  on  earth  and  in 
heaven.  This  power  has  been  restored  to  earth  through  the 
ancient  presidency  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  Peter, 
James  and  John  who  conferred  it  upon  Joseph  Smith  jun., 
and  he  upon  the  Church;  thus  the  same  power  is  restored  by 
the  holy  angels  in  our  day,  and  I  am  thankful  to  inform  you 
that  I  can  claim  my  wife  and  children  when  I  am  resurrected, 
but  when  the  record  is  searched  it  will  show  that  you  have 
cut  yourself  off  from  the  only  thing  worthy  of  retaining  from 
this  mortal  sphere.  Should  you  complain  you  would  be 
shown  that  it  was  your  own  act,  and  the  comparison  might 
be  shown  you  of  how  careful  you  were  of  securing  your  title 
to  houses  and  lands,  the  deed  of  which  gave  your  right  to 
your  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  but  which  you  knew  (admit- 
ting a  hereafter)  you  could  not  hold,  as  the  owner,  Jehovah, 
said  He  would  make  the  earth  new  and  change  and  prepare  it 
for  his  Saints.  Thus  the  only  real  property  (your  wife  and 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  1 11 

children)  you  were  willing  to  deed  away  after  death.  Not  so 
with  the  "Mormons",  to  whose  God  we  are  indebted  for 
the  fact  that  a  man  can  marry  a  wife  for  all  eternity,  and  the 
children  born  before  the  parents  were  sealed  up  for  eternity 
could  be  adopted  as  their  own  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  mak- 
ing record  to  fall  back  to  for  reference." 

Our  friend  was  very  much  entertained  with  our  recital, 
and  expressed  himself  that  if  that  was  "Mormonism"  he  liked 
it  exceedingly,  and  that  he  wished  he  could  believe  it;  and 
said  if  he  ever  could  see  into  any  religion  it  would  be  one  like 
that. 

A  large  majority  of  the  human  family  are  in  this  pre- 
dicament, and  this  is  why  so  many  will  be  shut  out  of  the 
Celestial  kingdom  where  alone  there  is  increase.  The  other 
glories  comprise  the  angels  etc.,  who  have  no  increase,  and  here 
is  where,  in  our  opinion,  is  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched. 
When  men  see  others  with  their  families  and  a  kingdom 
that  will  endure  forever,  after  having  lost  the  same  oppor- 
tunities through  refusing  to  accept  the  unpopular  doctrine 
called  "Mormonism,"  the  fire  of  conscience  will,  indeed,  be 
most  awful,  as  no  torment  equals  that  of  mental  agony.  The 
New  Testament  teaches  that  unless  we  have  faith  and  works 
we  can  in  no  wise  enter  the  Celestial  city.  The  Savior  says 
''When  ye  see  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  sit  down  in  my 
father's  kingdom  and  ye  yourselves  are  shut  out,  there 
will  be  weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 
Such  choose  the  things  of  the  world  which  fade  away;  and 
reject  those  pertaining  to  eternity.  Many  will  thank  God 
that  they  were  poor  as  they  will  learn  that  it  is  hard  for  the 
rich  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  on  account  of  the  many 
temptations  to  allure  them,  such  as  taste,  fashion,  luxury 
and  a  neglect  of  the  poor,  waste  of  precious  time,  thank- 
less squandering  of  God's  stores,  and  neglect  to  prepare  for 
the  second  coming  of  the  Lord.  Others  will  mourn  over 
sins  of  omission,  ever  trifling  with  something  they  knew 
should  be  done.  Others  will  meet  in  judgment  their  broken 
vows.  How  many  will  meet  the  record  of  Sabbath-breaking 
and  neglect  of  worship!  We  are  commanded  to  fast  and  pray 


112  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

and  bring  our  donations  to  feed  the  poor.  On  the  first 
Thursday  of  every  month  how  many  can  say  "I  have  a  clean 
record  in  this  covenant?"  There  is  a  revelation  which 
concerns  us  now  living,  that  is  much  neglected,  a  revelation 
of  promises  and  benefits  in  this  life  to  all  who  will  obey  it, 
viz.,  the  "Word  of  Wisdom."  He  who  keeps  that  law  has 
the  promise  that  the  destroying  angel  shall  pass  by  him,  and 
that  he  shall  have  rich  stores  of  knowledge,  and  run  and  not 
be  weary,  walk  and  not  faint.  Read  it,  for  one  of  our  omis- 
sions is  that  we  perhaps  do  not  read  sufficiently.  Strong 
drink  is  therein  forbidden  except  for  the  washing  of  the  body. 
The  filthy  weed  tobacco  is  also  forbidden  in  that  revelation 
and  is  pronounced  as  only  good  for  sick  cattle.  There  is 
more  cash  expended  on  this  noxious  weed,  and  on  spirituous 
liquors  in  all  the  world,  than  would  enrich  every  poor  person 
on  the  globe.  What  a  crying  disgrace  is  this  to  meet  in 
judgment.  What  a  wilful  waste  of  means  and  strength; 
enough  to  bring  happiness  to  every  family.  Who  can  estimate 
the  misery  entailed  to  the  human  race  by  the  wilful  breaking 
of  this  "Word  of  Wisdom?"  How  many  will  be  punished, 
not  only  for  their  own  sins,  but  for  their  influence  on  others! 
How  many  will  bless  their  friends  who,  in  the  time  of  danger, 
warned  them  faithfully  of  such  practices! 

One  of  the  regrets  of  the  condemned  will  be  for  loss  of 
time.  A  grain  of  sand  on  the  ocean  shore  is  all  we  can  call 
this  probation;  even  Methusalah's  969  years  was  but  an  atom 
in  the  great  ocean  of  time.  If  you  do  not  grasp  the  idea  fully 
by  this  illustration,  take  all  the  waters  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  and  convert  them  into  ink, -and  if  you  could  use  the 
canopy  of  heaven  for  a  copy  book,  wherein  to  make  a  little 
stroke  every  year,  when  you  had  covered  the  sky  with  tiny 
marks,  eternity  would  still  expand  before  you.  In  the  econo- 
my of  God  every  man  is  an  agent  unto  himself;  there  is  no 
force  employed  to  coerce  agency.  All  are  volunteers  in  the 
army  of  Emmanuel.  Such  will  have  come  up  through  sore 
trials;  choosing  imprisonment,  suffering  and  death  itself  to  a 
loss  of  title  to  exaltation  and  glory. 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


113 


We  may  ask  ourselves  a  few  questions,  the  answers  to 
which  will  determine  our  present  status.  If  we  have  a  family 
do  we  command  it  as  did  Abraham,  for  God  said  of  him,  "I 
know  that  he  will  command  his  household."  Where  are  your 


children  at  night?  Do  you  know  what  company  they  keep? 
Do  you  instruct  them  in  things  pertaining  to  the  Kingdom  of 
God?  Thorough  instruction  on  the  nature  of  atonement  is 
all-important.  To  attract  children  to  the  home  circle  they 


114  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

should  have  home  amusements,  such  as  music,  innocent  games; 
but  never  allow  card-playing,  as  many  are  thereby  led  off  into 
gambling.  We  should  correct  our  children  when  they  need 
correction,  instruct  them  in  cleanliness,  tidiness  and  accom- 
pany them  to  Sabbath  School,  instilling  a  love  for  divine 
things  into  their  hearts.  Never  show  violent  passion  in  cor- 
recting a  child,  better  your  child  see  you  in  tears  than  to  see 
you  in  angry  passion.  By  thus  guarding  ourselves  our  child-. 
ren  will  grow  up  as  "plants  of  renown,"  dispensing  the  frag- 
rance of  love  wherever  they  may  reside. 

Thus  conducting  ourselves  we  may  be  able  to  pass  the  an- 
gels and  the  Gods  to  glory  celestial. 

The  question  may  be  asked:  how  are  the  records  of  the 
recording  angel  to  be  kept  for  each  individual  of  our  globe, 
which  numbers  at  present  fourteen  hundred  million  souls;  and 
some  have  excused  themselves  in  wrong-doing  on  what  they 
have  regarded  as  the  impossibility  of  such  record.  The  Book 
of  Mormon  says,  "All  things  are  written  by  the  Father,"  but 
the  system  of  writing  there  and  the  number  engaged  in  the 
business  are  matters  we  know  little  about;  besides,  anatomists 
believe,  from  the  nature  and  structure  of  the  brain  itself,  that 
not  a  thought  rolls  through  the  mind  without  leaving  its  im- 
press there.  If  this  is  not  so,  whence  do  we  call  up  the  dead 
forms  of  those  who  have  left  us  years  ago?  We  certainly  call 
them  up  from  the  mind.  Then  they  must  be  impressed  upon 
that  delicate  structure  or  purposely  constructed  register.  It 
is  believed  that  not  even  a  shadow  falls  against  a  wall  with- 
out leaving  its  impress  there,  and  it  has  been  chemically 
demonstrated  that  if  a  wafer  be  placed  upon  a  highly  polished 
steel  surface  and  removed  for  months,  that,  by  resorting  to  the 
proper  chemical  processes,  the  wafer  impression  can  be  restor- 
ed. How  much  greater  must  the  purposely  constructed  reg- 
ister of  the  mind  or  brain  be  in  its  capability  for  such  impress. 
Here  is  a  record  we  cannot  deceive,  and  every  moment,  we 
are  writing  indelibly  upon  it.  Men  under  the  impressions 
made  by  fearful  accident  prove  this  theory  beyond  question. 
I  am  informed  by  persons  rescued  from  drowning  that  the 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES.  115 

events  of  life  have  passed  in  regular  succession  from  child- 
hood, vividly  and  distinctly  before  them.  What  methods, 
besides  that  of  the  mind  itself,  there  are  for  recording  the  acts 
of  men  our  finite  minds  can  have  but  feeble  conception  of. 
He  who  formed  the  mind  must  have  methods  of  record-mak- 
ing infinitely  above  our  comprehension. 

But  I  pass  on.  Some  have  thought  that  the  final  judg- 
ment will  occur  at  Christ's  next  or  first  personal  appearance 
from  this  time.  This  is  a  great  error.  Every  scripture  on 
the  subject  conveys  a  contrary  idea.  That  judgment  will  be 
after  the  thousand  years  reign.  "Blessed  is  he  that  shall  come 
unto  the  thousand  years,  on  such  the  second  death  shall  have 
no  power." 

Our  ambition  is  that  this  little  work  may  be  the  means  of 
converting  one  soul  who  may  yet  take  us  by  the  hand  and  say, 
"I  am  indebted  to  you  or  your  exhibition  of  paintings  for  the 
idea  of  starting  me  on  the  path  to  endless  life,"  if  so,  we 
shall  be  extremely  happy.  Do  not  let  anything  deter  you 
form  choosing  the  way  of  life.  Make  your  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure.  Whatever  tends  to  happiness  will  be  yours.  If 
gold,  the  streets  of  the  heavenly  city  will  be  adorned  there- 
with, its  gates  of  pearls  and  its  walls  of  precious  stones. 
"Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  all  these  things  will  be  add- 
ed unto  you."  Honors  that  never  fade,  powers  that  pertain  to 
celestial  spheres  are  yours.  That  we  may  meet  each  other  in 
those  blest  realms  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  the  author  of  these 
humble  pages. 


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